Page 146 - Safe Wrestling

Marina Dobnik and Rok Vatovec

kle, spine, and shoulder. In addition, athletes in the experimental group
achieved statistically significant improvements in neuromuscular func-
tion and dynamic balance (p < 0.05). Between-group comparisons also
demonstrated statistically significant differences in favour of the experi-
mental group (p < 0.05).
The experimental group replaced its usual warm-up routine with
Wrestling Plus, which consisted of 20-minute sessions performed three
times per week over a six-month period, whereas the control group con-
tinued performing a standard warm-up. In total, the intervention lasted
27 weeks and confirmed that a systematically structured warm-up pro-
gramme can play an important role both in injury prevention and in
improving wrestlers’ movement abilities.
The study conducted on cadet wrestlers by Bayati et al. (2019) similarly
demonstrated that 12 weeks of Wrestling Plus performed three times per
week significantly improved Functional Movement Screen (FMS) out-
comes. The results showed statistically significant improvements in total
FMS score, as well as in the Deep Squat, Hurdle Step, In-Line Lunge, and
Trunk Stability Push-Up tests, whereas no meaningful differences were
observed in Shoulder Mobility, Active Straight Leg Raise, or Rotary Sta-
bility. Notably, the proportion of athletes classified as high risk (FMS ≤
14) decreased by 66.7% in the intervention group, which performed the
Wrestling Plus warm-up, while the control group, which continued its
routine warm-up, showed no meaningful changes in any measured vari-
able (p ≥ 0.05). These findings support the view that Wrestling Plus can
improve fundamental movement patterns while reducing movement-
related injury risk factors.
The study by Esmailnezhad et al. (2024), investigating the effects of an
eight-week Wrestling Plus intervention in adolescent freestyle wrestlers,
also demonstrated significant benefits. Athletes who completed the pro-
gramme three times per week, compared with a control group perform-
ing routine warm-up exercises, achieved statistically significant improve-
ments in static balance on both stable and unstable surfaces (p < 0.001),
dynamic balance in all three directions (anterior, posteromedial, and
posterolateral) (p = 0.047), and a significant reduction in proprioceptive
error during knee-joint movement (p < 0.001). The reduction in knee
position-sense error suggests that the programme influences not only
strength and flexibility, but also fine neuromuscular control and propri-
oceptive function. The authors concluded that Wrestling Plus represents
an effective preventive approach because it enhances movement capac-

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