INJURIES IN CONTACT TEAM SPORTS AND EXAMPLES OF MODIFIED GAMES FOR USE IN TEACHING AND SCHOOL SPORTS

Abstract

Contact team sports are sports games that structurally emphasize or require physical contact between players. They are extremely popular with young people because they inspire intrinsic motivation in athletes and students. Taking part in this type of physical activity develops health, motoric, functional, and psychological potentials in athletes. In addition to the listed positive aspects, there are also negative ones, related to injuries that may be caused by contact. This review study showed that in contact sports the injuries of bones, ligaments, and tendons appear most frequently. The most popular contact sports football, basketball, handball,
rugby, and water polo have been scientifically researched. Each sport separately carries the potential risks of injury, and each one is individually explained based on review studies. In addition to the analysis of the most common injuries in team contact sports, the modified versions of rugby, basketball, and handball are presented. They are contactless, which reduces the possibility of injuries in athletes. Touch rugby, netball and street handball are presented with their own rules and can be very easily implemented in working with young athletes and students in school. Such games encourage the participation of many students and athletes, thus developing a base for health-oriented exercise with minimal risk of injury.