Doctoral Defense in Health Sciences – Kári Árnason

Friday, 21 November 2025 – 09:00, Ceremonial Hall, University of Iceland (Hátíðasalur).

Kári Árnason will defend his doctoral thesis in Health Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland.

The thesis is entitled:
More than the shoulder? Kinematics of the jump throw and factors influencing shoulder problems in handball
(Meira en bara öxlin? Hreyfigreining á uppstökkskasti og áhrifaþættir axlarmeiðsla í handbolta)

Opponents:

Dr. Roland Johannes Wilhelmus van den Tillaar, Professor at Nord University, Levanger, Norway

Dr. Behnam Liaghat, Associate Professor at University of Southern Denmark

Supervisor: Professor Kristín Briem
Co-supervisor: Atli Ágústsson, Lecturer

Also serving on the doctoral committee were Elís Þór Rafnsson, Physiotherapist, and Hilde Fredriksen, Physiotherapist.

The ceremony will be chaired by Professor Sólveig Ása Árnadóttir, Head of the Physical Therapy Programme, and will take place in the Ceremonial Hall of the University of Iceland (Hátíðasalur) at 09:00.

Abstract
Shoulder problems are common among handball players. However, the influence of lower body strength and trunk rotation power on shoulder problems in handball have not been investigated before. Despite the jump throw being the most common throwing technique in handball, few motion analyses stuides have been conducted. This thesis is based on results from three research papers. In the first part, the association between pre-season lower body strength and trunk rotation power and shoulder problems during the ensuing season was examined among male handball players. In the second part, the same relationships were studied among female players, with the additional analysis of the effects of internal versus external shoulder load. In the third part, a 3D motion analysis of the jump throw was performed. Together, the studies demonstrate the importance of proximal segments´ force generation among male players and how proximal kinematics influence the throwing shoulder during a jump throw. Simultaneously they highlight the complex interaction of multiple risk factors for shoulder problems among female players.

About the Doctoral Candidate
Kári Árnason was born in 1988 in Akranes and raised in Vesturbær, Reykjavík. He completed a B.Sc. in Physical Therapy from the University of Iceland in 2013 and earned an M.Sc. degree from University College London in 2016.

Kári has worked as a physiotherapist since 2013 and, as of January 2025, serves as a lecturer in the Physical Therapy Programme at the University of Iceland. He began his doctoral studies in 2022 under the supervision of Dr. Kristín Briem and Dr. Atli Ágústsson.

His parents are Árni Þór Vésteinsson and Ingibjörg Rögnvaldsdóttir. Kári is married to Kara Elvarsdóttir, and they have two children — Kría (8 years old) and Úlfur (4 years old).