Registration of cruciate ligament injuries in Norwegian top level team handball. A prospective study covering two seasons

Abstract

All cruciate ligament injuries in the three upper divisions for men and women (3392 players) in Norwegian team handball in the 1989‐90 and 1990–91 seasons were registered. A questionnaire was mailed to all injured players. Ninety‐three cruciate ligament injuries were registered; 87 in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and six in the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). Among women, 1.8% were injured compared with 1.0% of the men. In the first division, the risk of being injured was considerably higher: 4.5% of the players had a cruciate ligament injury. There were 0.97 cruciate ligament injuries per 1000 playing hours in the three divisions taken together. Seventy‐five per cent of the injuries occurred during games. Ninety‐five per cent involved no contact between players. Activities in which the friction between shoe and floor was significant caused 55% of the injuries. Injuries caused by running into another player contributed to only 5% of the injuries. No significant differences were observed in injury incidence during matches between different types of floors (parquet, Pulastic and other synthetic sufaces).