{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,10]],"date-time":"2026-10-10T00:13:35Z","timestamp":1791591215718,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,5]],"date-time":"2025-04-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1743811200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":4,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004329","name":"The Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["393\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["393\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004329","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004329","name":"The Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["P5-0147"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P5-0147"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004329","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004329","name":"The Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["V5-24013"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["V5-24013"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004329","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport","award":["V5-24013"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["V5-24013"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,25]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>To describe the prevalence, incidence and burden of injuries and illnesses, including their patterns (mechanisms, affected body parts\/organ systems) across playing positions (wing, back, line and goalkeeper) in elite adult male handball players.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The Slovenian version of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire on Health Problems (OSTRC-H2-SLO) was used to record health problems (HP) weekly during the 45-week handball season 2022\/23.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The study included 189 athletes (age: 23.3\u00b14.4 years). With a weekly response rate of 93%, the mean weekly prevalence of HP was 13.3% (95% CI: 12% to 15%). The overall incidence was 2.2 HP per player per year (95% CI: 1.9 to 2.4), with a cumulative 3318 days lost and a mean time loss of 10.7 days per problem. Acute injuries represented the highest prevalence, incidence and more than 4\u00d7 greater burden than overuse injuries and illnesses. The knee was the most frequently injured site for both acute and overuse injuries. For acute injuries, the ankle was the second most affected site, while the pelvis\/lower back and shoulder were common in overuse injuries. Respiratory illnesses comprised 48% of all illnesses. Wings had the highest prevalence (17%), while backs exhibited the highest incidence (0.99 HP per player per year 95% CI 0.84-1.17), and goalkeepers faced the longest time-loss per HP.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Our findings emphasise the need for position-specific medical care and prevention programmes, targeting knee, ankle, pelvis\/lower back, shoulder and respiratory tract. Wings and backs require particular attention due to their high prevalence and burden, while goalkeepers need specialised rehabilitation protocols.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Trial registration number<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                     <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" ext-link-type=\"clintrialgov\" xlink:href=\"NCT05471297\">NCT05471297<\/jats:ext-link>.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjsem-2025-002460","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,5]],"date-time":"2025-04-05T08:35:14Z","timestamp":1743842114000},"page":"e002460","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Prevalence, incidence and burden of health problems across playing positions in elite male handball players: a 45-week prospective cohort study"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"11","clinical-trial-number":[{"clinical-trial-number":"nct05471297","registry":"10.18810\/clinical-trials-gov"}],"author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8403-3154","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kristina","family":"Drole","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sport, Institute of Kinesiology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aglaja","family":"Busch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Professions, Division of Physiotherapy, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Armin","family":"Paravlic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sport, Institute of Kinesiology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia"},{"name":"Faculty of Sport Sciences, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mojca","family":"Doupona","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sport, Institute of Kinesiology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kathrin","family":"Steffen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Norway"},{"name":"Norwegian National Unit for sensory loss and mental health, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025083109453148000_11.2.e002460.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s40279-014-0164-z"},{"key":"2025083109453148000_11.2.e002460.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Michalsik LB , et al . On-court physical demands and physiological aspects in elite team handball. In: Laver L , Landreau P , Seil P , eds. Handball sports medicine: basic science, injury management and return to sport. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, 2018: 15\u201333.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-662-55892-8_2"},{"key":"2025083109453148000_11.2.e002460.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dello Iacono A , Karcher C , Michalsik LB , et al . Physical training in team handball. In: Laver L , Landreau P , Seil R , eds. Handball sports medicine: basic science, injury management and return to sport. 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