Page 141 - Safe Wrestling

10

Wrestling Plus: An Evidence-Based

Preventive Warm-Up Programme
in Wrestling

Marina Dobnik and Rok Vatovec
© 2026 Marina Dobnik and Rok Vatovec
https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-570-2.10

Introduction
Wrestling is characterised by repeated high-intensity contact, rapid posi-
tional transitions (Gutiérrez-Santiago et al., 2023), and frequent exposure
to throwing, gripping, and ground-transition situations, all of which cre-
ate substantial mechanical demands and contribute to a considerable
injury burden in both training and competition (Bromley et al., 2018).
Because many wrestling injuries occur during routine training rather
than exclusively during competition (Pasque & Hewett, 2000), preven-
tive strategies are likely to be most effective when they are time-efficient,
scalable, and consistently deliverable by coaches within standard train-
ing sessions (Del Vecchio et al., 2018).
Structured neuromuscular warm-up programmes have been widely
promoted in sport as a practical approach to reducing injury risk, par-
ticularly when they combine dynamic activation with strengthening,
balance or control exercises, and sport-specific movement preparation
(Lutz et al., 2024; Stergiou et al., 2025). However, within combat sports,
comparatively few protocols have been systematically developed and
evaluated using controlled study designs (Bacon & Wilson, 2024; Bell et
al., 2024; von Gerhardt et al., 2023). Consequently, there remains a need
for discipline-specific programmes that are both practically feasible and
supported by outcome-based evidence.
Wrestling Plus is a wrestling-specific preventive warm-up programme
designed to address common injury locations and the principal neuro-
muscular demands of wrestling through a structured and progressive se-

Plevnik, M., & Dobnik, M. (2026). Safe wrestling.
University of Primorska Press.