Prevalence, localisation, and contributing factors of injuries in team sports: a pilot analysis of Croatian football and handball

A paucity of data exists concerning musculoskeletal injuries in athletes participating in contact team sports, a situation that is particularly salient in the Croatian context. The present pilot study analyzed injury profiles in 203 Croatian male football and handball players (114 and 89, respectively). Item-level responses were executed without the utilization of skip logic, consequently yielding slight variations in sample sizes for each variable. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics, including effect size, were applied. The prevalence of injuries was found to be high, with 86.7% of athletes reporting a history of musculoskeletal injury. Lower extremity injuries were the most prevalent injury type, accounting for 79.3% of cases, and were particularly common among football players. In contrast, upper extremity injuries were more frequently reported by handball players, with a rate of 20.0%, which is significantly higher than the rate of 9.2% observed among football players. Despite the modest effect sizes observed, these sport-specific variations were found to be statistically significant (V = 0.153–0.179). A comparison of the injury rates revealed that football players exhibited a higher proportion of total injuries (97.0%) compared to handball players (72.7%), although this difference was insignificant (p = 0.065). A higher prevalence of injuries was observed during the competitive season phase (58.9%; χ²(1) = 10.68, p = 0.001, V = 0.244). A modest positive correlation was found between the duration of sports experience and the frequency of injuries (ρ = 0.203, p = 0.006). However, the rest period between training sessions was found to be unrelated to the occurrence of injuries (ρ = 0.013, p = 0.882). The prevalence of recurrent injuries among injured athletes was found to be 58.6%, with no significant association observed between this phenomenon and the availability of physiotherapists. The findings of this study underscore the need for prevention programs tailored to the specific risks associated with sports and the varying experience levels of athletes. To effectively address these issues, ongoing research and evaluation using statistical and practical effect estimates are imperative.