Netball FAQs

How do these injuries normally occur?

In netball, a significant focus is placed on footwork, i.e. foot placement upon catching the ball. Game rules stipulate the landing foot must stay grounded, only moving to pivot. Consequently, many of the common injuries listed above occur during the landing aspect of play (Kovac et al, 2022), particularly after landing awkwardly. Alternatively, other injuries may be caused by player contact/collision, falling during play, overuse, or by being struck by the ball (Downs et al., 2021; Sports Medicine Australia, 2009).

What should I do to prevent injuries?

1. Prior to play

Some options to prevent injury, prior to play, include:

• Undergo a pre-participation screening by a relevant health professional, such as your physiotherapist, to rule out any musculoskeletal issues that may contribute to overuse injuries in netball;
• Ensuring a sufficient warm-up, including dynamic warm-ups to ensure the body is prepared for play;
• Using ankle/knee supports, including braces and taping, where necessary;
• Wearing high-cut netball shoes, helping to improve stability of the ankle joint;
• Ensuring a good night’s sleep (quantity and quality)
• Adequate fuelling pre-game (e.g. micronutrients, macronutrients, fibre, and hydration)

2. Long term strategies

For netball players, working on strength, power,  proprioception and skill-specific movements is a well-rounded long term strategy to prevent injury.

1) Proprioception exercises

Proprioception is defined as the neural process by which the body takes in sensory input from the surrounding environment and integrates that information to produce a motor (i.e. movement) response (Rivera et al., 2017).

Due to the high loads placed on lower limb joints, such as the ankle or knee, during a game of netball, this can predispose them to injury. Consequently, employing proprioceptive (or balance) training to prevent injury, and reduce risk of re-injury, can be a good strategy.

Examples of proprioceptive training for the ankle joint, for example, could include wobble board/dura disc balance training, single leg exercises with the eyes closed, or, for an additional challenge, throwing/catching a ball during these tasks (Rivera et al., 2017). The aim of these exercises is to enhance our ability to adapt to changing environments and subsequently protect the body from injury.

A systematic review and meta-analysis by Bellows and Wong (2018) found that athletes who performed specific balance training had fewer ankle sprains and reduced their risk by 46% compared to controls.

But, the good news doesn’t end there! Not only can proprioceptive training reduce your risk of sustaining a first-time ankle sprain, but it can also reduce your likelihood of experiencing recurrent sprains (Rivera et al., 2017). So, why not do it?

2) Strength training

While targeted netball exercises have their place, a well-rounded, traditional strength and conditioning program too can improve a player’s movement quality (Kovec et al., 2022). See below for an example of a suitable strength training program, as created by Thomas and colleagues (2017).

You may have noticed the predominant focus placed on lower limb strengthening in the above example strength program. Reason being, netball players require greater lower limb relative strength to overcome the inertia of body mass during play. Strength training can help to improve an individual’s ability to accelerate and decelerate during movements such as jumping, sprinting, and change of direction (COD), with Thomas and colleagues (2017) discovering that athletes who exhibited greater strength levels were able to produce higher propulsive ground reactions forces and impulse during said actions. Suffice to say, increases in strength can improve lower limb control and reduce injury risk and performance decline.

3. Skill-specific exercises

As mentioned above, netball involves rapid acceleration, deceleration and directional changes while exerting considerable force (Coetzee et al., 2014). As a result, players may require additional agility, power and flexibility training. Incorporating exercises that cover these netball-specific components of fitness into training regimes, with a focus on enhancing landing control, COD, and catching passes, can help develop these skills.

Progressions from bilateral to unilateral exercises in multiple planes is recommended when undertaking jump training, focusing on appropriate landing strategies (Thomas et al., 2017). To increase transference to netball, correct landing mechanics and strategies should be emphasised in closed-skill practices before progression to open-skill jump training activities (Thomas et al., 2017).

Another important aspect of netball is power. An example power training program can be seen below (Thomas et al., 2017). High-power movements such as weightlifting and explosive jumping movements are beneficial to improve netball-specific performance measures such as sprinting, COD, and jumping, with many similarities seen between the tasks (Spiteri et al., 2015; Hori et al., 2008).

Which type of ankle support device is best?

A systematic review conducted by Dizon and colleagues (2010) showed that in elite and recreational athletes, ankle braces reduced the incidence of ankle sprain by 69%. Similarly, another study found that athletes who wore braces had fewer ankle sprains and reduced their risk by 64% compared to controls (Bellows & Wong, 2018).

Of the braces available, lace-up ankle braces have been shown to restrict ankle range of motion during a single leg landing without increasing the load on the knee joint (Vanwanseele et al., 2014), making them one of many suitable options.

Using strapping tape is another good option to stabilise joints. Similar to bracing, ankle strapping reduced the incidence of ankle sprain by 71% (Dizon et al., 2010).

All in all, both strapping and bracing are good options, and the decision ultimately comes down to what you, as the player, are most comfortable with. Alternatively, a combined approach is another perfectly suitable option, if not found to be overly restrictive.

Do netball specific shoes actually help me more than traditional running shoes?

Netball-specific footwear has proven to be another good option for preventing ankle injuries! Sinclair and colleagues (2014) discovered that minimalistic footwear, compared to netball-specific footwear, had the potential to predispose players to an increased risk of injury when assessing running, cutting, and jumping movements, all of which are common to the game of netball.

Netball shoes (otherwise known as court shoes) are a little heavier and more durable than your standard pair of runners. They are also generally a little wider and encompass the foot more, helping to provide side to side stability.

So, all things considered, if you play the game of netball, investing in a good pair of netball shoes seems to be a good idea!

What are some good tips for recovery after a game of netball?

When it comes to recovering from a game, or multiple games, of netball, recovery should focus on the ‘majors’. Some of the ‘majors’ for recovery, in no particular order, might be;

1. Sleep (quantity and quality)
2. Diet (micronutrients, macronutrients, fibre and hydration)
3. General exercise and activity (training load, periodisation, programming variables etc.)
4. Mental health status (beliefs, stress, anxiety, depression etc.)
5. Social dimensions (relationships, socialisation, support etc.) and
6. Work-related factors (work-life balance, financial position etc.)

If you need help with any of this, we would love to help you out!