introduction: Ball sport school injuries account for a significant morbidity among children and adolescents. Volleyball is popular in school sport and leads frequent injuries in youth besides basketball and soccer. Methods: During a school year 2234 school sport injuries have been reported to the Gemeinde Unfall Versicherung (GUV) from all schools in Niedersachsen, Germany. The major disciplines were ball sport injuries, accounting for 59.5% (1330 accidents), Gymnastic sport injuries follow at second position accounting for 18% (403 accidents), followed by athletics with 8.1%. Results: Regarding the non-gender-specific distribution of the ball sport disciplines, basketball leads with 32.4% (431 injuries), followed by soccer (23.8%, 316 injuries), volleyball (17.4%, 232 injuries), small ball games (11.2%,149 injuries), handball (8.3%, 110 injuries), and hockey (4.9%, 65 injuries). In boys, volleyball accounts third among the ball sport injuries (10%, 63 injuries), after soccer (38%, 245 injuries), and basketball (28.5%,185 injuries). In girls, volleyball was the second major ball sport injury discipline (24.8%, 169 injuries) after basketball (36.1%, 246 injuries), followed by small ball games (12.9%, 88 injuries), and soccer at 4(th) position (10.4%, 71 injuries). The analysis of the distribution of injury during volleyball accidents dominate upper extremity injuries (71.3%), with special emphasis on finger injuries in 53%, followed by lower extremity injuries (21.5%) and head injuries (4.3%). Spine injuries were rare (0.9%). The type of injury during volleyball school sport injuries were predominantly sprains (21%), ligament distorsions and ruptures (20%), fractures (17%), and bruise (16%). Analyzing the circumstances of the injuries, most injuries during volleyball school sport occurred without a opponent contact during ball contact (59%), followed during movements (9%), the landing phase (9%), and after a strike of the ball (7%). Conclusion: Volleyball injuries account for a significant number of all school sport related injuries. Upper extremity injuries account for the vast majority of all injuries especially during individual game play. Blunt trauma and fractures are most prevalent among school sport injuries in soccer. Preventive measures such as preservation of a high level of attention when scheduling a sport lesson, safety measures, and awareness of the possible severe injuries and knowledge in basic life support are mandatory to implement in school sports, since ball sport is proven to be very valuable for the physical and psychological development of the children. The role of preventive finger taping in volleyball school sport has to be evaluated in prospective clininal trials.
