THE IMPACT OF SHOULDER INJURIES ON BADMINTON PLAYER AVAILABILITY AND PERFORMANCE

This study investigated the affects of shoulder injuries on participation and \nperformance amongst competitive badminton players. Questionnaires were used to \naccumulate quantitative data from a sample of 37 participants, both male (26) and \nfemale (11) from various badminton clubs in South Wales. Thirty percent of \nparticipants reported a shoulder problem during the 2010-2012 seasons, and most \ninjuries were either chronic on-going problems or a singular acute incident. It was \ndiscovered that the affects of injury had a negative impact on performance, with pain, \nanxiety and a lack of range of motion being key issues (mostly in overhead shots). It \nwas also found that the majority of players continued despite injury (78%) and \nadapted stroke play and playing habits to compensate for this (91%). Furthermore \nparticipation was negatively affected with most players missing a number of training \nsessions and matches because of their injury. Of those injured 73% were male, and \nthe average age was significantly higher than those not injured, suggesting these \nfactors may be an antagonist of shoulder injury. Overall risk assessments in \nbadminton need to be addressed more thoroughly to reduce injury incidence, \nmoreover the consultation and management of shoulder injuries needs to improve to \nincrease performance and participation. Further research should look to incorporate \ndiagnostic measures to highlight the types of shoulder injury in badminton and \ndevelop prehabilitative strategies to reduce the risk of injury, thus improving \nparticipation and performance in badminton players.