Flexibility is the ability to perform movements through a large range of motion in one or more joints. In handball, it is an important component of basic conditioning and injury prevention programs, aiming to maximize players’ efficiency and functionality in performing the technical and tactical elements of the game. The aim of this master’s thesis was to examine the flexibility status of elite handball players in different playing positions, analyze the presence of flexibility asymmetries, and determine whether differences exist between positions. The study included 76 elite handball players, categorized into backcourt, wing, pivot, and goalkeeper positions. The testing protocol consisted of passive and active flexibility tests of the dominant and non-dominant sides of the body, which all participants performed without prior warm-up. Paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to assess statistically significant differences in flexibility between the dominant and non-dominant shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, and trunk for each playing position. Differences between positions were examined using one-way analysis of variance or its non-parametric alternative. The largest differences were observed in wing players in active trunk rotation (d = -6.72) and in external rotation of the shoulder joint (d = -4.59), with higher mean values recorded on the dominant side in both cases. No statistically significant differences between playing positions were found in passive knee extension and passive ankle plantar flexion. In all other tests, flexibility differences between groups were identified on both the dominant and non-dominant sides. No differences were found between backcourt and wing players in shoulder and hip girdle flexibility. In most cases, statistically significant differences were observed between pivot players and goalkeepers. Values of internal rotation deficits of the glenohumeral joint by playing position showed a higher internal rotation deficit in backcourt (M = 10.30 ± 3.65) and wing players (M = 10.70 ± 5.80) compared to goalkeepers and pivots. The study concludes that pivot players exhibited the smallest ranges of motion in the examined joint systems, but these were relatively symmetrical when comparing both sides of the body. In contrast, backcourt and wing players showed greater bilateral asymmetry in flexibility across multiple variables compared to pivots and goalkeepers. Significant differences were observed in the direction of increased external rotation and decreased internal rotation of the dominant arm compared to the non-dominant arm.
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