Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Many handball players have shoulder pain while playing handball. A recent study demonstrated that it is possible to reduce the problem by over a quaarter. Despite this reduction in shoulder problems, only 3 in 10 of the coaches would continue using the whole program the next season, because 'the program was too time-consuming'. To be able to reduce the number of exercises and make the program more efficient, we need to know how the exercises reduce shoulder injuries. Shoulder external rotation weakness and limited internal rotation are considered to be the most important risk factors for shoulder problems in handball. The aim of our study is to test if the prevention program affects these two risk factors.
Who can participate?
Handball players aged 16 to 18 years from clubs located in or close to Oslo will be invited to participate in this study.
What does the study involve?
Half of the participants will do a shoulder prevention program designed for handball over an 18-week period, while the other half will do their regular handball warm-up and training. All the participants will be tested for shoulder strength and range of motion before, during the training period (after 6 and 12 weeks) and after the training period (18 weeks).
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Reduction of shoulder problems is a possible benefit in the intervention group. (All the participants will be offered the training program after the intervention is finished). There are no known risks of participating.
Where is the study run from?
The study is being run by the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center in Norway.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
August/September 2018 to February 2018.
Who is funding the study?
Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center
Who is the main contact?
1. Hilde Fredriksen, hilde.fredriksen@nih.no
2. Grethe Myklebust, grethe.myklebust@nih.no
Trial website
Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Mrs Hilde Fredriksen
ORCID ID
Contact details
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Department of Sports Medicine
Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center
P.O.Box 4014 Ullevål Stadion
Oslo
0491
Norway
+4799709997
hilde.fredriksen@nih.no
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
N/A
Study information
Scientific title
Investigating the effect of Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC) shoulder injury prevention program in handball on key risk factors, external rotation strength and internal rotational range of motion
Acronym
Study hypothesis
The OSTRC shoulder injury prevention program in handball affects the risk factorsfor shoulder injury: external rotation (ER) strength and internal rotation (IR) range of motion (ROM).
Ethics approval
Norwegian regional committee for medical and health research ethics, South East region, 14/05/2018, 2018/412/REK sør-øst
Study design
Randomized controlled trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Randomised controlled trial
Trial setting
Other
Trial type
Prevention
Patient information sheet
Only available in Norwegian. Please use the contact details below to request a participant information sheet.
Condition
Shoulder injury prevention training in healthy handball players
Intervention
Four handball teams, players aged 16 to 18 years will participate. The teams will be randomized, with stratification for gender, to one exercise group and one control group.
The intervention group will perform the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC) shoulder prevention program in handball over an 18-week period as described in the original study. The prevention program is a 10-minute warm-up program, carried out three times per week as a part of the regular handball warm-up, and consists of five exercises with different variations and levels. The exercises are intended to increase the muscle strength in shoulder external rotation (ER), to improve neuromuscular control around the scapula and improve shoulder internal rotation (IR) range of movement (ROM). Exercises to improve kinetic chain activation and thoracic mobility were also added.
The control group will continue doing their regular handball warm-up.
Intervention type
Behavioural
Phase
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
1. Shoulder isometric external rotation strength (measured with a handheld dynamometer [HHD]) after 18 weeks
2. Internal rotation range of motion after 18 weeks
Secondary outcome measures
1. Isometric ER strength by HHD at weeks 6 and 12
2. IR ROM at weeks 6 and 12
3. Isometric muscular strength by HHD in IR at weeks 6, 12 and 18
4. ER/IR isometric ratio at weeks 6, 12 and 18
5. Isokinetic ER and IR, concentric at 60 and 300°/sec and eccentric at 60°/sec, both absolute values and the functional deceleration ratio (FDR) ERecc/IRcon at 60°/sec at 18 weeks
6. IR at weeks 6, 12 and 18
7. Total rotational ROM at weeks 6, 12 and 18
Overall trial start date
01/01/2018
Overall trial end date
31/12/2019
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
1. Handball players
2. Aged 16 to 18 years
3. Play handball in clubs located in or close to Oslo
Participant type
Healthy volunteer
Age group
Mixed
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
52
Participant exclusion criteria
1. Player in a club that already implements the shoulder injury prevention program
2. Handball clubs with less than 12 players
Recruitment start date
01/08/2018
Recruitment end date
12/09/2018
Locations
Countries of recruitment
Norway
Trial participating centre
Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center/ Norwegian School of Sport Science
Sognsveien 220
Oslo
0806
Norway
Sponsor information
Organisation
Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center
Sponsor details
P.O.Box 4014 Ullevål Stadion
Oslo
0806
Norway
+47 23262367
ostrc@nih.no
Sponsor type
Research organisation
Website
Funders
Funder type
Not defined
Funder name
Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
We plan to publish the results in 2019-2020
IPD sharing statement:
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study will be available upon request from Hilde Fredriksen, hilde.fredriksen@nih.no. Raw data of strength and range of motion will be shared. The data will become available after publication of the study.
Intention to publish date
31/12/2020
Participant level data
Available on request
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list