ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2014
On-court demands of elite handball, with special reference to playing positions.
Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02956135 (Relationship Between Dysfunctions of Movement in the Lower Back and Pelvis With Overuse Injuries in Handball Players), which is not on this map. Cited by 123 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Relationship Between Dysfunctions of Movement in the Lower Back and Pelvis With Overuse Injuries in Handball Players
Who cites it
123 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 368 citations in OpenAlex.
- Performance adaptations to speed, agility, and quickness training in team-sport athletes: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Physical Demands during Official Competitions in Elite Handball: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Metabolic Power in Team and Racquet Sports: A Systematic Review with Best-Evidence Synthesis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of Flywheel versus Traditional Resistance Training on Change of Direction Performance in Male Athletes: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Handball-specific loading acutely reduces the acromiohumeral distance in experienced handball players and in non-handball experienced athletes.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2022Pooled it
- Injury Prevalence of the Lower Limbs in Handball Players: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Resistance Training and Handball Players' Isokinetic, Isometric and Maximal Strength, Muscle Power and Throwing Ball Velocity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Short-duration ischemic preconditioning does not improve jump or change of direction performance in elite male handball players.PloS one · 2025Trial
- Effects of small-sided games vs. simulated match training on physical performance of youth female handball players.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Effects of a Short-Term Recreational Team Handball-Based Programme on Physical Fitness and Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health of 33-55-Year-Old Men: A Pilot Study.BioMed research international · 2018Trial
- Construct differentiation and reliability of a novel curvilinear sprint test in female handball players.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Acute Effects of Forefoot Wedges on Concentric Power Output During Loaded Back Squats in Elite Female Handball Players: A Randomized Crossover Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Anthropometric and Physical Performance Reference Values in Young Handball Players Aged 9-15 Years: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Percentile Profiling and Factorial ANOVA.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Peripheral Neuromuscular Fatigue Responses of the Knee Extensors to Distinct Concurrent Training Protocols: A Preliminary Study.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Effects of Eccentric-Overload vs. Free-Weight High Load Resistance Training on Throwing Velocity in Elite Young Male Handball Players.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- High Injury Incidence Among Youth in the World's Largest Handball Tournament: A Prospective Observational Study of 17 034 Participants.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2026Observational
- Differences in Physical Performance and Body Composition Between National and Non-National Youth Female Handball Players.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Data-Driven External-Load Analytics: Integrating Cluster Analysis and ACWR Monitoring in Elite Handball.Journal of human kinetics · 2026Article
- Validity of a reactive agility test for aerobic and anaerobic performance assessment in female handball players.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
63 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The aim of this review is to provide the first comprehensive analysis of the various technical and physical on-court demands in elite male handball with respect to playing positions. While low-intensity activities such as standing still and walking represent the greater proportion of playing time (up to ~70 %), handball can be considered an intense activity for all players, especially because of the large number of repeated high-intensity actions occurring throughout the game (e.g., jumps, sprints, changes of direction, duels, contacts). Additionally, the substantial number of body contacts likely increases neuromuscular load, both during and following games. However, the average running pace (53 ± 7 to 90 ± 9 m·min(-1)) during handball games tends to be lower than in the majority of other team sports, while blood lactate and heart rate responses tend to be similar and slightly lower, respectively. Behind these team-average data, the substantial variations in technical and physiological demands between the different positions have been overlooked in the literature. Whether physical fatigue actually occurs during games is still unclear since, in the majority of studies, games were not examined under actual competitive situations. We contend that, in practice, appropriate player rotations may allow players to maintain an optimal physical performance level or, at least, limit a possible drop in physical/playing efficiency. Future research should essentially focus on the technical and physiological responses during games in relation to specific collective systems of play and individual playing roles. The occurrence of player position-specific fatigue should also be better examined when considering individual playing time and rotation strategies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.