Arterial aneurysms noted in professional volleyball athletes

A study conducted in Netherlands on professional volleyball players insists the doctors to be aware of a potentially serious injury that could be caused due to a shoulder artery while playing volleyball. The study points out, nearly 1 out of 4 professional volleyball players are susceptible to get arterial injury on the field during the game.

The study

The doctors have come across blood vessel walls with hazardous protuberances called the arterial aneurysms, in the shoulder region of nearly 6 professional volley ballers. Approximately 100 players were investigated by Dutch researchers to see how many were indicating the signs of the same damage.

Dr Mario Maas, radiologist at the Academic Medical Center/University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands and senior author of the study along with his team, stated "We only did a questionnaire and we still need to relate whether the questionnaire is in accordance to a vascular problem."

They noted 6 cases of players showing fingers with blood clots in three years time. The blood clots were observed mostly in the dominant hands of the professional volleyball players.

Results of the Dutch study

Nearly 27 % of the volleyball players were found to have cold fingers while playing, 18 professionals showed blue fingers and nearly 20 of them admitted to pale fingers immediately after or during a bout of strenuous play session.

The shoulder artery on the dominant side of body of players had been surgically treated by the doctors to repair the injured blood vessel and cure the arterial aneurysms. The athletes were back in action within a few weeks with the same fervor.

The researchers fear this may be due to little blood clots originating from the damaged shoulder artery. The detailed examination of whether the players actually suffer from arterial damage still has to be ascertained.

Daan van de Pol, associated with the study affirmed “the problems can be due to compression of an artery in the shoulder when a player is going for a smash or a serve.” The effort exerted to reach overhead for the ball put extreme squeezing pressure on the artery like "like a tube of toothpaste," the team asserted, “potentially causing clots to shoot out and circulate down to the fingers.” The authors pointed out that similar condition has been reported in professional baseball pitchers.

Follow up researches are on in full swing on the rare condition. Leaving the condition untreated can have serious implications in the long run so it is imperative to diagnose and treat the people suffering from vascular disorders.