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Marina Dobnik

on the basis of two predictors – crawling time and handgrip strength.
Longer crawling time and greater handgrip strength were associated with
a higher likelihood that the child would sustain an injury during physical
or sports activity in subsequent years. Models for predicting fall-related
injuries and upper-limb injuries were also statistically derived; howev-
er, due to the small number of events and low sensitivity, they were not
sufficiently robust for practical application, although they pointed to-
wards the potential importance of muscular imbalance (knee agonist-
antagonist ratio) and handgrip strength as potentially high-risk profiles.
In none of the models was the assessment of the quality of fundamen-
tal movement patterns directly and robustly associated with injury prob-
ability, suggesting that movement quality should be understood within a
broader, multidimensional framework (morphology, strength, coordina-
tion, and exposure), rather than as an isolated predictive factor.
Overall, the study concluded that predictive models in early childhood
can identify certain partly modifiable risk factors (e.g., muscular balance
and strength profiles of the upper and lower limbs), but that their results
are highly dependent on the specific population, sample size, and injury
definition used. Their principal value therefore lies in guiding further re-
search and helping to identify areas in which it is appropriate to design
targeted preventive programmes and adjust training loads – a conclusion
that is also relevant for young athletes participating in sports with a high
risk of falls and upper-limb injuries, such as wrestling.

Conclusion
This contribution synthesised key models of injury occurrence, preven-
tion, implementation, and prediction, illustrating how they can be used
to organise injury-prevention thinking from causal explanation to prac-
tical action. The epidemiological perspective and Haddon’s phase-factor
matrix provide a foundation for identifying interacting factors (host,
agent, vector, and environment) and for locating preventive opportu-
nities across time (pre-event, event, and post-event). Building on these
principles, sport-specific frameworks – van Mechelen’s sequence of in-
jury prevention, the TRIPP model, and the TIP cycle – clarify how to
progress from defining the injury problem and its mechanisms to de-
veloping interventions, evaluating their effectiveness, and ensuring real-
world adoption and compliance.
In wrestling and other combat sports, prevention planning benefits
from combining a mechanism-based understanding of injuries with

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