Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Volleyball Players with a Focus on Lower Limbs and the Predictive Value of the Tuck Jump Assessment: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Volleyball involves repetitive jumping and landing, which predispose athletes to lower limb injuries. Functional performance tests, such as the Tuck Jump Assessment (TJA), have been proposed as screening tools to identify athletes at risk. Objectives: The present study primarily aimed to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries, with a focus on the lower extremities, among volleyball players. A secondary objective was to evaluate the association between TJA scores and previous injury history. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 139 male and female volleyball players (mean age = 15.1 ± 3.2 years) from Shahroud, Iran. Demographic data, training history, and injury information were collected via questionnaires. Participants performed the TJA, which was analyzed using a 10-item checklist. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), employing independent t-tests, chi-square tests, and logistic regression analyses (P < 0.05). Results: The overall injury prevalence was 27%, with the knee (31%), ankle (24%), and shoulder (15%) being the most affected sites. Age (odds ratio = 1.27, 95% confidence interval: 1.11 - 1.46; P < 0.001), height (odds ratio = 1.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.01 - 1.07; P = 0.004), weight (odds ratio = 1.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.01 - 1.07; P = 0.003), and training experience (odds ratio = 1.02, 95% confidence interval: 1.01 - 1.03; P < 0.001) were significantly associated with injury occurrence. However, TJA scores were not significantly related to injury risk (P = 0.12). Conclusions: The TJA was not significantly associated with prior injury history among volleyball players. Instead, individual characteristics and training experience showed stronger associations with the occurrence of sports injuries. These findings highlight the need for multifactorial screening and prospective designs in future research.