Background Injuries in volleyball are quite frequent and most likely caused by increased frequency, intensity and duration of training.

Objective, setting The aim of the present study was to examine the incidence and mechanisms of injuries among top eight European junior female national teams.

Design, methods Injury occurrence for the 2009–2010 season were collected by using a questionnaire.

Results Of the 84 volleyball players (87.50% response rate), a total of 66 (78.54%) female players sustained 75 injuries, representing an overall incidence of 0.89 injuries per player. The national team players of the Czech Republic and Turkey reported the highest number of injuries, while the Italian team had the lowest number of injuries in the past season. An ankle (33.33%) was the most commonly injured region, followed by a knee (20%), fingers (17.33%) and shoulder (16%). Ankle injuries seemed to be more serious problem in the National team players of the Czech Republic (8/13 or 61.53%), while shoulder injuries were most common in the Russian National team (7/12 or 58.33%). Almost half of the reported injuries (48%) occurred in contact with another player. Majority of injuries occurred during training (41.33%), and 48% of all injuries were localized on the left side of the body. Most injuries were associated with play along the net, that is, blocking (41.33%) and spiking (24%). 53% of the injuries were slight or minor causing absence from training session time of less than 1 week.

Conclusions Although all female players participated in some kind of injury prevention training during preseason or season, more than three-quarters of the players reported an injury during the season, indicating that this vulnerable population is especially sensitive and should be better adapted to training. Also, heterogeneity in localization of incurred injuries among players of different national teams could be observed thought different training techniques.