Quantification of external and internal match loads in elite female team handball

The purpose of this study was to analyze the on-court demands of handball players during the European Handball Federation Champions League Final Four (VELUX EHF FINAL4) 2019 to define time–motion characteristics (played time; covered distances) both in offense and defense. Furthermore; we aimed to define position-specific demands and differences among them. Forty players from three teams were analyzed during the tournament using a local positioning system (LPS) for the first time in top handball. Players covered similar distances both in offense (1388.28 ± 2627.08 m), and in defense (1305.47 ± 5059.64 m) and remained on court for a similar average time (15.69 ± 8.02 min and 15.40 ± 8.94 min respectively). When locomotion activities were normalized according to the time they spent on court; significant differences were found for defense compared to offense in walking (+20%; p < 0.000; Cohen’s effect size (ES) = 1.01) and jogging (−29.6%; p = 0.000; ES = 0.90), as well as a tendency for high-intensity running (+ 25.2%; p = 0.077; ES = 0.31). Per playing position; center and left back (CB = 94.86 ± 10.98 m·min−1; LB = 96.55 ± 24.65 m·min−1) showed the highest running pace in offense and mid-left; front center defender and outside right for the defense (ML = 90.38 ± 30.16 m·min−1; FCD = 87.04 ± 14.94 m·min−1; OR = 89.64 ± 34.93 m·min−1). In conclusion; profile differences existed among players’ position activity; both in offense and defense; which should be taken into account when designing specific physical training programs

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 1 , 8 ]. All these elements are of great importance in handball and are also closely related to each other, which makes handball a particularly complex sport [ 4 , 5 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Performance Handball Player’s Time-Motion Analysis by Playing Positions

Manchado

Martínez

Pueo

et al. 2020

“…The popularity of this sport has increased in recent years, and currently, there are an estimated 25 million players worldwide [2], including male, female, senior, and youth players [3]. Despite the multiple beneficial effects derived from handball practice, such as improvements in cardiovascular, metabolic, muscular and psychosocial health [4][5][6], this team sport presents a high injury risk [7], mainly due to its high-intensity specific demands (i.e., rapid changes of direction, jumps with abrupt landings and repetitive throws, as well as frequent physical contact among players [8,9]). Likewise, low physical fitness, incorrect technique, lack of flexibility, and also inadequate rehabilitation treatment of injuries have been reported as risk factors related to the occurrence of injuries [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Injury Profile of Male and Female Senior and Youth Handball Players: A Systematic Review

Raya-González

Clemente

Beato

et al. 2020

Self Cite

Handball is a team sport in which players are exposed to high physical conditioning requirements and several contacts and collisions, so they must face various musculoskeletal injuries throughout their career. The aim of this study was to summarize the characteristics of handball injuries both in training and in competition contexts, differentiating by gender and age. A systematic review was conducted and a total of 15 studies (33 cohorts) met the inclusion criteria. Higher injury incidence was reported during matches compared to training sessions in all groups (i.e., male and female senior and youth players), with male senior players presenting the greatest values. Lower extremities were more frequently injured, being contusions and sprains the most common type of injuries. Females reported more serious injuries than males, who presented a higher percentage of acute injuries caused by direct contact, while in female players these injuries were not caused by direct contact actions. Wings and backs presented the highest injury incidence; additionally, players registered higher match incidence during international championships compared to national leagues. Due to the differences in the injury profile of handball players, specific preventive strategies should be implemented for each group to optimize the injury prevention process.

“…In line with studies investigating the indoor handball characteristics [ 8 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], many aspects of beach handball, such as physiological parameters [ 22 , 34 ], individual and team performance [ 35 , 36 ], and shooting actions [ 37 , 38 , 39 ], have been investigated. However, no previous study has investigated the relationship between the objective (SHRZ) and subjective (sRPE) methods used for assessing the players’ internal load.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…External load can be assessed by means of Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Inertial Movement Units (IMU) [ 3 ], accelerometers [ 3 ], and Local Positioning Systems (LPS) [ 4 ]. Although these systems are widely used in team sports such as basketball [ 5 , 6 , 7 ], handball [ 8 ], and beach handball [ 9 ], they present several limitations, such as high cost, the need of high technical expertise, and the risk of technical errors leading to a loss of data [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Usefulness of Linear Mixed-Effects Models to Assess the Relationship between Objective and Subjective Internal Load in Team Sports

Iannaccone

Conte

Cortis

et al. 2021

Self Cite

Internal load can be objectively measured by heart rate-based models, such as Edwards’ summated heart rate zones, or subjectively by session rating of perceived exertion. The relationship between internal loads assessed via heart rate-based models and session rating of perceived exertion is usually studied through simple correlations, although the Linear Mixed Model could represent a more appropriate statistical procedure to deal with intrasubject variability. This study aimed to compare conventional correlations and the Linear Mixed Model to assess the relationships between objective and subjective measures of internal load in team sports. Thirteen male youth beach handball players (15.9 ± 0.3 years) were monitored (14 training sessions; 7 official matches). Correlation coefficients were used to correlate the objective and subjective internal load. The Linear Mixed Model was used to model the relationship between objective and subjective measures of internal load data by considering each player individual response as random effect. Random intercepts were used and then random slopes were added. The likelihood-ratio test was used to compare statistical models. The correlation coefficient for the overall relationship between the objective and subjective internal data was very large (r = 0.74; ρ = 0.78). The Linear Mixed Model using both random slopes and random intercepts better explained (p < 0.001) the relationship between internal load measures. Researchers are encouraged to apply the Linear Mixed Models rather than correlation to analyze internal load relationships in team sports since it allows for the consideration of the individuality of players.