Relationship between strength training and shoulder pain in male and female water polo players

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of two different strength-training methods on both male and female water polo players’ performance and shoulder pain. The players were randomly allocated to a maximum strength (MS: 14 males, 8 females) or power strength (PS: 13 males, 8 females) training group. Before and after the intervention, we assessed player´s anthropometric characteristics, shoulder internal and external rotation strength, hand grip strength, upper body strength, countermovement jump height, throwing velocity, swimming speed, shoulder pain on a visual analogue scale (VAS), wellness, and rate of perceived exertion per session. We observed no significant improvement (<i>P</i>< 0.05) in specific skills but enhancement in hand grip strength in male players. In female players in the MS group, throwing speed and bench press weight decreased significantly (<i>P</i>< 0.05). Shoulder external rotation strength at 240°/sec in male MS group players and shoulder external rotation strength at 60°/sec in female PS group players decreased significantly (P< 0.05). In addition, from the first to the last week, shoulder pain increased significantly (<i>P</i>< 0.05) in all players. Inverse correlations (<i>P</i>< 0.05) were found between VAS and shoulder rotation strength in males in the PS group, and between wellness and shoulder internal rotation strength in men in the MS group and women in the PS group. We found that both MS and PS training did not enhance performance and increased shoulder pain in male and female water polo players.

Perceptions and use of recovery strategies in water polo players and coaches: a worldwide survey

“…In team sports, players are exposed systematically to new stimuli (trainings or competitions) before they fully recover ( Querido et al, 2022 ). Among team sports, water polo (WP) is a highly demanding water-based contact sport that requires intense bursts of sprint swimming, constant technical-tactical events ( Perazzetti et al, 2023a ; Perazzetti et al, 2023d ) and frequent changes of direction, with incomplete recovery periods ( Barrenetxea-García et al, 2023 ; Botonis et al, 2019 ). Therefore, optimal recovery strategies are essential to avoid long-term fatigue and adverse consequences such as poor performance or injury ( Altarriba-Bartes et al, 2020 ).…”

“…The most popular methods to improve recovery in team sports are ergo-nutrition, active recovery, hydrotherapy, massage techniques, compression garments, cryotherapy, foam rolling, sleep strategies, and psychological implements ( Calleja-González et al, 2016 ; Querido et al, 2022 ; Rose et al, 2017; Wiewelhove et al, 2019 ). Nevertheless, in WP, there is still very scarce literature about that topic ( Barrenetxea-García et al, 2022 ; Barrenetxea-García et al, 2023 ; Barrenetxea-García et al, 2024 ; Botonis et al, 2024 ; Botonis and Toubekis, 2023 ) and only a very limited number of studies have specifically analyzed the effectiveness of any recovery strategy throughout interventions in WP ( Barrenetxea-García et al, 2022 ; Barrenetxea-García et al, 2024 ; Botonis and Toubekis, 2023 ). This reality turns it very difficult to make specific recommendations derived from scientific evidence, and generally the guidance of recovery is made by trends and sensations ( Altarriba-Bartes et al, 2021 ; Simjanovic et al, 2009 ).…”