Basketball injuries: caring for a basketball team

Facial Injuries in the National Basketball Association

BACKGROUND

Sport injuries can negatively impact physical and psychological aspects of athletes. There is a gap in the literature regarding facial trauma present in basketball.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to identify and describe facial trauma present in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

STUDY DESIGN, SETTING, SAMPLE

This is a retrospective cohort study in which the sample (n = 206) consists of players that missed games due to facial injuries in the NBA, the data were collected from a public access online resource.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

The predictor variables were player position (center, point guard, shooting guard, small forward, and power forward), team conference (Eastern/Western), and if played games occurred in playoff season.

MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLES

The primary outcome variable was the injury location (upper, middle, and lower facial third), and the secondary outcome was type of injury (soft tissue/bone fracture).

COVARIATES

Player's age, height, weight, and body mass index were collected.

ANALYSES

χ2 and logistic regression were calculated to determine associations between predictor and outcome variables. Logistic regression was used to determine if variables were predictive for injury. Odds ratio was also computed for significant results. P value less than .05 (95% confidence interval) was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

A total of 206 players missed games due to facial injuries, and a total of 212 injuries were quantified. The mean age of the injured players was 27.24 ± 4.06 years, mean height (centimeters) was 201 ± 59.31 cm, mean weight (kilograms) was 99.48 ± 12.41 kg, and body mass index was 24.52 ± 1.75 kg/m2. Of the 212 injuries, none of them occurred in the upper facial third, 158 (75%) were in the middle third, and 54 (25%) were in the lower third; 151 of them were fractures (61%) and 61 were soft tissue injuries (29%). Most injuries were concentrated in centers (23%) and power forwards (23%). The most common fracture occurred in the nasal bones (39.2%), and most soft tissue injuries occurred in the eye globes (25%). Almost all injuries occurred during regular season games (97%), and the Eastern conference was slightly predominant (52%).

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE

Significant facial trauma in the NBA has risen in recent years. The player's position, height, and weight were the primary factors associated with facial trauma in the NBA.

Prospective epidemiological study of basketball injuries during one competitive season in professional and amateur Spanish basketball

INTRODUCTION

There are few Spanish epidemiological studies of basketball injuries, even though it is the second most played sport and the leading sport played by females in Spain.

POPULATION

We studied 117 male and female basketball players from ten amateur or professional teams from four leagues in the 2014-2015 season.

RESULTS

There were 11.6 injuries per 1,000 hours of sporting activity, 9.6 injuries per 1,000 hours of training and 47.3 injuries per 1,000 hours of competition. The rate of injuries requiring downtime was 2.99 per 1,000 hours of training, 41.7 per 1,000 hours of competition and 4.1 per 1,000 hours of sporting activity overall. No significant differences were found in the incidence of injuries between leagues, but a higher incidence by season was found in teams participating in international competitions, due to the increased competition time. The ankle was the main site of injuries causing ≥ 8 days of downtime and knee injuries the site of those causing ≥ 29 days of downtime. The most frequent injuries were sprains, bruises, and muscle overloads and 63.8% of players had ≥ 1 potentially-recurring injury. The most prevalent injuries were ankle sprains (50%), thigh muscle injuries (12.2%) and knee tendinitis (7.4%). The only significant predisposing factor for injury was recurrent injury (adjusted OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.029-3.62). Age, sex, height, weight, position, body mass index, and professional/amateur competition were not significantly associated with the number of injuries or ≥ 7 days downtime in the multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION

Preventive measures should be applied to the team as a whole at an early age, since recurrent injuries only explained a small percentage of the total injuries.

Case Report: Unable to Jump Like a Kangaroo Due to Myositis Ossificans Circumscripta

A male 10-year-old captive red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) was presented with a chronic progressive pelvic limb lameness and reluctance to jump. The general examination revealed a palpable induration of the lumbar epaxial muscles. Magnetic resonance imaging performed under general anesthesia revealed bilateral almost symmetric, well-circumscribed mass lesions in superficial erector spinae muscles. The lesions had irregular to multilobulated appearance with hyper-, hypo-, and isointense areas in T2- and T1-weighted (w) sequences without contrast enhancement. On computed tomography, a peripheral rim of mineralization was apparent. Histopathological analysis of a muscle biopsy showed osseous trabeculae with rare clusters of chondrocytes indicating metaplasia of muscle tissue to bone. No indications of inflammation or malignancy were visible. The clinical, histopathological, and imaging workup of this case was consistent with myositis ossificans circumscripta. This disorder is particularly well-known among human professional athletes such as basketball players, where excessive, chronic-repetitive force or blunt trauma causes microtrauma to the musculature. Metaplasia of muscle tissue due to abnormal regeneration processes causes heterotopic ossification. The kangaroo's clinical signs improved with cyto-reductive surgery, cage rest, weight reduction, and meloxicam without further relapse.

Hip external rotation isometric torque for soccer, basketball, and volleyball athletes: normative data and asymmetry index

BACKGROUND

Deficits in strength of the hip external rotators (ER) affect trunk, hip, and knee movement patterns, potentially contributing to injury in athletes.

OBJECTIVES

To provide normative data on isometric torque for hip ER in athletes of three distinct sports and to determine if isometric torque for the hip ER and torque asymmetry between legs differ among sports and between sexes.

METHODS

Basketball, soccer, and volleyball athletes (n=451) were evaluated. Hip ER torque was quantified bilaterally with athletes in prone and 90° of knee flexion using a hand-held dynamometer.

RESULTS

Data are expressed as mean and 95% confidence interval. Hip ER torque values in Nm/kg for the dominant and non-dominant limbs were, respectively, 0.46 (0.44, 0.48) and 0.42 (0.40, 0.44) for male soccer athletes; 0.35 (0.32, 0.37) and 0.27 (0.25, 0.29) for male basketball athletes; and 0.37 (0.34, 0.39) and 0.35 (0.32, 0.37) for male volleyball athletes. Hip ER torque in Nm/kg for the female volleyball athletes was 0.29 (0.26, 0.33) for the dominant and 0.29 (0.25, 0.32) for the non-dominant limb. The Limb Symmetry Index for male soccer, basketball, and volleyball players was, respectively, 94% (91, 97), 81% (75, 87), and 95% (91, 99). For female volleyball players the Limb Asymmetry Index was 102% (95, 108). Male volleyball athletes showed higher torque values than female volleyball athletes.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reported normative values for hip ER isometric torque of youth athletes. Clinicians can use the reported data as reference to identify torque deficits in athletes of the three reported sports.

Effects of Dry Needling on Neuromuscular Control of Ankle Stabilizer Muscles and Center of Pressure Displacement in Basketball Players with Chronic Ankle Instability: A Single-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aimed to compare the effects of dry needling (DN) versus placebo DN applied to the peroneus longus (PL) and tibialis anterior (TA) on neuromuscular control and static postural control in basketball players with chronic ankle instability (CAI). A single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted. Thirty-two male and female basketball players with CAI were randomly assigned to receive either DN (n = 16) or placebo DN (n = 16). Pre-activation amplitudes of PL and TA were assessed with surface electromyography (EMG) during a dynamic landing test. Center of pressure (CoP) displacement and sway variability in anterior-posterior (AP) and medio-lateral (ML) directions were measured with a force platform during a single leg balance test (SLBT). Measures were obtained prior to a single DN intervention, immediately after, at 48 h, and 1 month after. The DN group displayed a significant increase in PL and TA pre-activation values, which were maintained 1 month later. Significant reductions in the ML and AP displacements and sway variability of CoP were found for the DN group. These results showed improvements in feedback/feed-forward strategies following DN, including enhanced neuromuscular control and static postural control, with the potential to become a convenient and accessible preventive treatment in CAI subjects.

A Pilot Study of Hip Corrective Taping Using Kinesio Tape for Pain and Lower Extremity Joint Kinematics in Basketball Players with Patellofemoral Pain

Purpose

This pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility of hip corrective taping to improve self-reported knee pain and lower extremity joint kinematics in basketball players with patellofemoral pain.

Patients and Methods

A single group pre-test and post-test design. Collegiate basketball players with patellofemoral pain were recruited. Three-dimensional hip and knee joint kinematics were measured during two tasks, single-leg squat (SLS) and lay-up jump (LUJ), and each task was conducted under no-taping and taping conditions. Subjective report of pain was compared between no-taping and taping conditions only during SLS.

Results

Twelve collegiate basketball players with patellofemoral pain (median age, 22.7 [2.5] years; mean height, 173.8 ± 7.4 cm; mean weight, 72.5 ± 12.8 kg) participated in this study. Compared with no-taping, the use of hip corrective taping significantly increased the hip abduction angle at the instant of the maximal vertical ground reaction force during LUJ (no-taping vs taping: 0.6° ± 6.3° vs 3.3° ± 5.1°, p = 0.029), and also caused a trend of decreased maximal hip internal rotation angle during SLS (no-taping vs taping: 8.0° ± 6.6° vs 4.7° ± 6.9°, p = 0.050). Hip corrective taping also improved self-reported knee pain during SLS (no-taping vs taping: 3.4 ± 1.7 vs 2.6 ± 1.0, p = 0.046).

Conclusion

Hip corrective taping may be used as an effective intervention for athletes with patellofemoral pain during basketball-related tasks.

Physical activity-related injuries of college students in southern China: A 1-year prospective study

This prospective study was to describe the incidence and characteristics of physical activity-related injuries (PARI) among college students in southern China. Online questionnaires and telephone interviews were combined to investigate the physical activity (PA) participation and PARI occurrences every two weeks. Totally, 84 college students (men: 49; women: 35) with a mean age of 19.4 years completed the entire 1-year follow-up. Overall, 14250.3 PA exposure hours were collected and 36 PARI episodes were reported by 26 students, with an injury incidence density of 2.53 injuries per 1000 PA exposure hours and an injury risk of 0.43 injuries/student/year. July to September accounted for a highest proportion of injuries and half of the injuries happened in the evening. The majority of injuries occurred outdoors, happened in non-contact activities, were acute and involved the lower limbs, with sprains and strains being the primary injury types. Of all injuries, 80.6% resulted in PA withdrawal immediately and 58.3% led to absence from the next planned PA. No significant difference was found between men and women. This study reveals the problem of PARI among college students, which provides the direction for the prevention of PARI in this population.

Well-Come Back! Professional Basketball Players Perceptions of Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors Influencing a Return to Pre-injury Levels

The psychological factors influencing a return to sport has gained increased research attention. In the current investigation, we explored professional basketball players’ perceptions of the psychosocial and behavioral factors facilitating a return to performance equal to or exceeding previous performance standards. We also sought to describe athletes’ experiences – both positive and negative – of returning to sport following injury recovery. Ten Italian professional male basketball players (age range 22–36 years), were retrospectively interviewed in relation to three time-periods: (1) from the commencement of rehabilitation to their first official competition, (2) the first official competition, and (3) the 6-months following the initial competition. Qualitative content analysis of the data revealed numerous themes across the three time periods. In regards to Period 1, participants indicated that social support, investment in rehabilitation and training programs, coping skills and motivation were fundamental in reaching pre-injury performance levels. During their first official game (i.e., Period 2), athletes reported that realistic performance expectations, focusing on the performance, positive emotions, motivation, arousal and social support facilitated their return to sport. Athletes, however, also described a predominance of factors that hindered their return to pre- injury levels (i.e., low confidence in personal abilities, decrements in skill execution and dysfunctional physical sensations). Moreover, participants typically described a substandard level of performance during their first competition back following injury. In recounting experiences during the 6 months following their first official game, basketballers reported improvements in skill execution and highlighted the importance of coping skills, motivation and social support. The process of restoring self-confidence in one’s ability to successfully perform was perceived as crucial in enabling participants to move beyond a mere return to sport to a return to high performance – that is, to reach a level of proficiency equal to or exceeding previous performance standards. Findings support the relevance of cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses highlighted in the Integrated Model and suggest the importance of addressing psychological factors throughout the return-to-sport process. Finally, results from the present study hold a number of practical implications for athletes’ aiming to achieve a return to pre-injury levels.