Throwing speed in team handball: a systematic review

Its undeniable that throwing speed is one of the most important actions during handball match so it is really important for trainers to improve their knowledge about it. Thus, the aim of the article is threefold: a) to review the scientific studies about the factors that determine throwing speed in team handball to be able to establish the importance of each one b) to summarize the scientific knowledge about throwing speed in handball including aspects that need more studies c) To suggest practical recommendations for handball coaches. Our review revealed that; a) Players with greater elbow angles and higher elbow displacement angles at the release of the ball throw faster b) Hand size, biacromial breadth and finger length are the main anthropometric factors related to throwing speed c) handball players are able to reach a high throwing speeds without losing accuracy, so they should carry out their throwing speed training sessions always at high-speed d) There many different training proposals but with most of them throwing speed is improved. It is necessary to analyse the tactical-technical and conditional work related with throwing speed. e) There are very few studies made in real competition

The relationship between effectiveness and throwing velocity in a handball match

The relationship between throwing velocity and performance is an important question in handball, but has received little research attention in competitive scenarios. The aim of the present study was to analyse the relationship between throwing velocity and player effectiveness during a match. We analysed the throws of 69 players, recording the ball velocity of 1007 goal-scoring shots. Based on their effectiveness, the players were divided into three groups: Group 1 (G1): 40% to 49.9% effectiveness; Group 2 (G2), 50% to 59.9% effectiveness; and Group 3 (G3) ≥ 60% effectiveness. No significant differences were observed between G1 and G2, but G3 presented significantly lower velocities (21.14 ± 4.97 vs 23.40 ± 6.19, p<0.001; and vs 22.41 ± 7.19, p<0.05) than G1 and G2, respectively. We also found an inverse relationship between effectiveness and throwing velocity (r=-0.48; p< 0.001), whereby faster throws reduced players’ effectiveness in competitive scenarios. All previous studies on throwing in handball have been conducted in non-competitive contexts; however, contrary to the results obtained in training contexts, we found an inverse relationship between effectiveness and high throwing velocity in competitive scenarios

A training proposal to improve multidirectional running technique in male and female handball players: a pilot study

Multidirectional running has been described as an important factor in team sports performance. The aim of the present study was to determine changes in T-test, 505 time, 10 m sprint, squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), countermovement jump right leg (CMJRL), and countermovement jump left leg (CMJLL) following exposure to 12 sessions over 4 weeks of a multidirectional running sprint training intervention in male and female handball players. A total of 31 handball players (15 male and 16 female) were recruited for this study and then randomly assigned to an experimental group (EG) or control group (CG). Male EG players showed improvements in 505 Preferred Side (PS) (p ≤ 0.05), 505 Non-Preferred Side (NPS) (p ≤ 0.05), and 10 m sprint (p ≤ 0.05), while female EG players presented statistically significant improvements between pre- and post-test for the T-test (p ≤ 0.05), 505 PS (p ≤ 0.05), 505 NPS (p ≤ 0.05), and 10 m sprint (p ≤ 0.05). No statistically significant pre- and post-test differences were observed in CG (all p ≥ 0.05) or between male and female players. We found an improvement in handball players’ agility and speed of movement following the intervention protocol, suggesting the need to introduce this program into our training sessions. It may also be necessary to select and develop more specific tests in order to evaluate multidirectional work in handball players

Influence of physical aspects and throwing velocity in opposition situation in top-elite and elite female handball players

The relationship between anthropometric and physical characteristics of female handball players and throwing velocity is considered an important factor in handball performance. The aim of this study was to examine key differences in anthropometric and fitness characteristics between top elite and elite female players competing in the first Spanish handball league. A total of 89 players from the first Spanish handball league were divided into two groups, top elite (38) and elite (51) players, and assessed for anthropometric and fitness characteristics (throwing velocity, vertical jump and hand grip strength). A Student’s t-test was used to determine whether a statistically significant difference between the two different levels of play occurred. Significant differences were found in age, body height, body mass, arm span, muscle mass, different girths (tensed and flexed arm, forearm, wrist, ankle), dominant hand width and length, different breadths (biacromial, bitrochanteric, bistyloid breadth and biepicondylar humerus) and fitness characteristics (hand grip strength and throwing velocity for different positions). Top elite players compared to elite players showed differences in anthropometric characteristics which were mainly located in the upper limbs and mostly were nonmodifiable aspects by training. Furthermore, the best players were able to maintain a high throwing velocity in different tactical situations

Predicting playing status in professional water polo players: analysis by gender

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was twofold: firstly, to identify the characteristics of water polo players that discriminate between women and men based on specific playing positions; and secondly to develop a predicting model to identify the characteristics that are best suited to a given playing position based on gender. METHODS: The study included 130 professional water polo players. Anthropometric characteristics and throwing velocity were analyzed in different situations: no defender or goalkeeper, goalkeeper only and the players made three rapid arm movements and then threw the ball at maximum speed without further feinting with goalkeeper. Measured variables were compared according to gender and player position using discriminant analysis. RESULTS: The predictive model accurately classifies 71.1% of the male players using three variables (arm span, muscle mass Lee and penalty without goalkeeper), and 64.7% of the female players using three variables (triceps skinfold, biceps skinfold and anteroposterior chest breadth). CONCLUSIONS: The anthropometric characteristics and throwing velocity play an important role in identifying the different specific positions in male and female water polo players. In female players, the variables that were determinant in the predictive model, were those associated with body composition.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. DEP2008-0611

The most common handball injuries: a systematic review

Handball is a team sport involving a great physical demand from its practitioners in which a high number of injuries occur, affecting individual and collective performance. Knowledge of the injuries is of great importance for their prevention. The objective of the present study was to identify, locate and compare the most frequent injuries and injury mechanisms in handball practice. It was carried out following the Preferred Informed Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The source of data collection was direct consultation of the PubMed and Medline databases. Several keywords were used for the documentary retrieval, and the quality of the studies that were selected was evaluated. Of the 707 studies retrieved, only 27 were considered appropriate for the review, and quality scores were obtained that ranged from 10 to 26 points, out of a maximum of 28. The most frequent injuries in handball players are located in the lower limbs (thigh, knee and ankle), and in the shoulder in the upper limbs. Regarding the playing position, the players who play over the 6-m line are the most affected by injuries, while the women players have a higher probability of injury. Most injuries occur during competition.Gobierno regional de Extremadura | Ref. GR 2114

Validez y estabilidad de la Escala Multidimensional de Generatividad (EMG)

La generatividad fue definida por Erik Erikson (1971) como la capacidad del adulto de comprometerse con el establecimiento y guía de la próxima generación. Se realizaron dos estudios para determinar las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala Multidimensional de Generatividad (EMG), la cual evalúa dicho constructo. En el primer estudio se determinó la  consistencia interna de la misma (? = .8507) y se realizó un análisis factorial exploratorio de la escala permitiendo la definición de cuatro factores que explican el 39,75% de la varianza y que se relacionan teóricamente con los subtipos propuestos por C. Bradley (1997). En el segundo estudio se efectuó un análisis de validez convergente con la Escala de Generatividad de Loyola (1992), encontrándose una correlación positiva moderada (.621 y .629). Asimismo en el segundo estudio se comprobó la estabilidad de las puntuaciones, mediante el análisis de confiabilidad test-retest hallándose una correlación positiva y moderada entre las dos aplicaciones de la EMG(r= .73)

Morbidity and mortality in newborns born to adolescent mothers

Introduction: pregnancy in adolescence is a concern of these times, motherhood in adolescents means risk for their health and that of their child. Objective: to describe morbidity and mortality in newborns born to adolescent mothers admitted to the Neonatology service of the "Abel Santamaría Cuadrado" General Teaching Hospital of Pinar del Río in the period 2019-2020. Methods: a descriptive and cross-sectional observational research was carried out in the Neonatology service of the General Teaching Hospital "Abel Santamaría Cuadrado" of Pinar del Río, during the years 2019 - 2020. The sample universe consisted of 270 newborns born to adolescent mothers, descriptive statistics were used. Results: mothers with late adolescence predominated (71,5 %), carriers of pregnancy-induced hypertension (24,8 %) and in their offspring newborns born at term (73,7 %), normopeso (76,3 %), with adequate intrauterine growth (67 %), born by transvaginal delivery (75,2 %), in good condition (85,5 %), with metabolic disorders being the most frequent complications (18,1 %), followed by perinatal infections (16,7 %).  Among the deceased there was a predominance of children born to mothers in late adolescence. Conclusions: adolescent pregnancy has a negative impact on the health status of their offspring by increasing morbidity and mortality in the neonatal period. The most frequent complications were metabolic disorders, followed by perinatal infections and respiratory distress. Bronchopneumonia predominated among the deceased.  Pregnancy-induced hypertension was the main associated disease in the mother

Improving Scientific Knowledge of Mallorca Channel Seamounts (Western Mediterranean) within the Framework of Natura 2000 Network

The scientific exploration of Mallorca Channel seamounts (western Mediterranean) is improving the knowledge of the Ses Olives (SO), Ausias March (AM), and Emile Baudot (EB) seamounts for their inclusion in the Natura 2000 network. The aims are to map and characterize benthic species and habitats by means of a geological and biological multidisciplinary approach: high-resolution acoustics, sediment and rock dredges, beam trawl, bottom trawl, and underwater imagery. Among the seamounts, 15 different morphological features were differentiated, highlighting the presence of 4000 pockmarks, which are seafloor rounded depressions indicators of focused fluid flow escapes, usually gas and/or water, from beneath the seabed sediments. So far, a total of 547 species or taxa have been inventoried, with sponges, fishes, mollusks, and crustaceans the most diverse groups including new taxa and new geographical records. Up to 29 categories of benthic habitats have been found, highlighting those included in the Habitats Directive: maërl beds on the summits of AM and EB, pockmarks around the seamounts and coral reefs in their rocky escarpments as well as fields of Isidella elongata on sedimentary bathyal bottoms. Trawling is the main demersal fishery developed around SO and AM, which are targeted to deep water crustaceans: Parapenaeus longirostris, Nephrops norvegicus, and Aristeus antennatus. This study provides scientific information for the proposal of the Mallorca Channel seamounts as a Site of Community Importance and for its final declaration as a Special Area of Conservation