Capillaroscopic evidence of microvascular damage in volleyball players

Volleyball players experience repetitive stress that involves their hands and, in particular, their fingers. Literature reports that repetitive trauma can lead to local vascular abnormalities, such as reduced capillarization and lower resting blood flow. These anomalies could be related to the presence of dysfunctional endothelium. The aim of this study is to correlate the capillaroscopic findings by nailfold video capillaroscopy (NVC) to volleyball practice in order to early detect possible anomalies and perform an adequate follow-up to avoid damages that could negatively affect sport practice and the players’ health status. In this study, 38 subjects were enrolled, 19 volleyball players and 19 healthy non-players as a comparison group. In almost all the players, we found capillaroscopic alterations of the “aspecific pattern” type without substantial gender differences. We may assume that the repeated traumas involving players' fingers can negatively modify their microcirculation. Based on these observations, it could be a desirable clinical practice to screen professional volleyball players with NVC in order to implement preventive strategies aimed at protecting the health of athletes.