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Purpose: Floorball is a team sport associated with many potential injuries, but several studies have shown that injury-prevention programmes (IPEPs) can reduce the risk of injuries occurring. Despite the existence and efficacy of injury-prevention exercise programmes, the incidence of injuries is still high. An important factor in conducting injury-prevention programmes regularly is player motivation. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the perceptions of and motivations behind floorball players participating in injury-prevention programmes in relation to their athletic context in elite Swedish clubs.

Method: Thirteen players from three different teams—five men and eight women—were interviewed. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis.Results: One main overall theme was identified: Insufficient conditions for motivation. The theme consists of four categories: “high demand on player responsibility”, “the influence of injuries”, “lack of time”, and “support from experts”.

Conclusions: The results of the study show that the conditions necessary for floorball player’s motivation in their sporting environment to perform injury-prevention exercise programme are insufficient, despite knowledge of their significance in avoiding injuries. The two main detriments to the motivation of the players to conduct injury-prevention exercise programmes were a lack of time, and injury-prevention programmes not being prioritised in everyday training. Based on the results, it is suggested that floorball players need improved conditions in order to be able to perform injury-prevention programmes on a regular basis, and moreover, that injury-prevention exercises must become a natural part of everyday training.

Introduction

The subjective experiences of healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic have been extensively studied; however, little research has focused on the experiences and perspectives of physiotherapists’, especially in the Nordic countries. The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of physiotherapists regarding the rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients in hospital settings during the COVID-19-pandemic in Finland.

Methods

Hermeneutic phenomenology was employed as a methodology. Ten physiotherapists were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

Four themes were identified: (1) pragmatic development of sensitive rehabilitation practices in a new and confusing working environment; (2) becoming a member of a cohesive team; (3) mixed feelings and reactions when facing the brutality of an unknown disease; and (4) being supported by colleagues but lacking support from the healthcare organisation.

Conclusion

The results may benefit healthcare organisations in improving organisational processes for ensuring the wellbeing of physiotherapists during future crises. Concrete actions to support employees could be developed by arranging resources for professional counselling and reflection during and after such crises, and by developing appropriate systems for recognising professional conduct in spite of difficult circumstances.

One common practice in talent development environments during the investment years (age 16+) and elite sport, in general, is the use of physiological testing of the athletes’ physical determinants of performance. In this article, the regime of controlling and monitoring athletes’ bodies for elite sport production through physiological testing will be examined. To this end, we explored athletes’ experiences of what has been done and why physiological tests are carried out the way they are to understand the practice of physiological testing in relation to athlete development. The material in this study is based on interviews with adult elite sport athletes (four group interviews with eight individual athletes in three different sports, four male and four female, and individual interviews with twelve female and five male football players). Schatzki's and Reckwitz's theorizing on social practices, together with Dewey's theorizing on learning from experience, are used to explore and illuminate the practice of physiological testing and what learning is enabled and constrained within that practice. The findings show that the meaning and significance of physiological testing for athletic development relates to how the tests are followed up and talked through with the athletes. The analysis shows that there exists a form of sport-wide commonality where the same understandings, rules or ends—irrespective of which sport is concerned—govern coaches’ and athletes’ behavior regarding physiological tests. The physiological testing practice articulates action intelligibility through rules and structures which emphasizes tests as isolated quantified indicators of physical status. The use of physiological tests as a part of learning or as a means for athlete development can therefore be questioned.

We aimed to examine whether the 9+ screening test score could predict injuries in elite floorball players. Eighty‐four elite floorball players participated in the study. At baseline, two physiotherapists assessed the participants using the 9+ screening test. The test score reflects strength, stability, mobility, and functional movement pattern with an emphasis on the lower body and core. Injuries that occurred the following season (2013/2014) were recorded by medical staff, coaches and/or self‐reported by the players. Overall, there was no relationship between the 9+ screening test score and injury risk (OR = 0.96 per SD lower test score, p = 0.84). We therefore conclude that the 9+ screening test is not suited for overall injury risk prediction in elite floorball players. Whether the test may be used to predict risk of certain injury types more strongly related to inadequate mobility and strength (e.g. muscle ruptures or strains) warrants further investigation.

The aim of this study was to investigate injury incidence and patterns in female and male floorball players of different ages compared with matched controls. This study involved all floorball players in Sweden and licensed during 2010–2012, and matched controls selected from Sweden’s Total Population Register. Injury diagnoses were acquired from national health care registers. The cohort comprised 148,372 players and 614,678 controls, with the median age 13 (range, 6‒69) years. In most age groups, players were at increased risk of traumatic injury, particularly knee and eye injuries. The incidence of cruciate ligament injury increased steeply from the ages of 13 years in girls and 16 years in boys, and was more than 7 times higher in female players aged ≥ 16 years than in controls. The risk of eye injury for floorball players compared to controls was increased from the age of 10 years in male players and approximately doubled from the age of 13 years; in adult female players this risk was more than 6 times higher than in controls. Development and implementation of injury prevention measures are essential so that floorball players can safely practice their sport. Given the increased risk of injuries seen also in young players, such measures should be applied in all age categories.

Background: 

The purpose of this study was to comprehensively review the scientific research on floorball at the competitive and recreational levels according to field of study.

Methods: 

Full articles containing original data on floorball that had been published in English in peer-reviewed journals were considered for inclusion.

Results: 

Of 75 articles screened, 19 were included in this systematic review. One article each was identified in the fields of sports management and sports psychology, and the remaining 17 articles were in the field of sports medicine. Injury epidemiology in floorball players was the most thoroughly examined topic of research. To date, no research has been performed on the incidence of floorball-related injury, or any aspect of the sport, in children and adolescents.

Conclusion: 

Collaborative research among sports science disciplines is needed to identify strategies to reduce the incidence of injury and enhance the performance of licensed floorball players. Despite the increasing popularity of floorball in recent years, surprisingly little research has examined this sport.

Innebandy är en sport fylld med högintensiva löpningar som ställer krav på både snabbhet och uthållighet. Förmågan att kunna upprepa många sprintlöpningar går att förbättra med särskild träning. Därför finns nu för första gången en träningsmodell anpassad för innebandy.