Background: Volleyball’s popularity among middle and high school girls continues to rise with many athletes playing the sport year-round. While up to 40% of high school basketball players consume analgesics frequently to manage sport related pain, there is limited evidence regarding the prevalence of over the counter (OTC) pain medicine use among high school volleyball players. Hypothesis/Purpose: Identify the prevalence of OTC pain medicine use in high school volleyball players and assess its association with prior injury and sports specialization level. Methods: Female volleyball players from 78 high schools were recruited to enroll in this prospective cohort study during the fall 2018 volleyball season. Baseline data were collected on demographic and volleyball characteristics including volume and type of volleyball participation, sport-related injuries over the previous twelve months, and level of sport specialization. The frequency of OTC pain medication use for pain management not related to menstrual cramps over the previous seven days was also collected. Participants were asked to describe their OTC pain medicine use during practice, matches, or conditioning and the location of pain they were treating. Results: In total, 2,073 female athletes (Age: 15.6 ± 1.1, BMI: 22.4 ± 3.5, Grade: 9-12) enrolled in the study. Sixty-nine percent (n=1425) reported no OTC pain medication use over the past seven days, 16.0% (n=332) reported seldom (one day/week) OTC medication use, 12.6% (n=261) reported sometimes (2-3 days/week) using OTC medications, and 2.7% (n=55) reported frequent (4-5 days/week) OTC medication use. In the same time period, 24.8% (n=513) used OTC medications during practice, 16.0% (n=331) during matches, and 21.4% (n=443) during conditioning. Across practice, matches, and conditioning OTC medications were most frequently used to control headaches (7-13%) and knee pain (4-6%). Highly specialized volleyball players were more likely to frequently use OTC medications (4.5%) compared to low (1.97%) and moderately specialized (2.5%) athletes (p=0.001). Of those reporting no OTC medications use, 16.7% (n=238) had an injury in the last year compared 36.4% (n=20) of athletes who frequently used OTC medications also reporting an injury in the last year (p&0.001). Conclusion: Almost one third of female high school volleyball athletes reported using OTC pain medications in the past week. Those with a history of injury and highly specialized athletes were more likely to use OTC medications. Coaches, athletic trainers, and healthcare providers should be aware of trends in the use of OTC medications among volleyball athletes as its popularity continues to rise.
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