Bourdas DI, Zacharakis ED, Travlos AK, Souglis A. Return to Basketball Play Following COVID-19 Lockdown.
Sports (Basel) 2021;
9:sports9060081. [PMID:
34204988 PMCID:
PMC8228181 DOI:
10.3390/sports9060081]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), major sporting events and activities have been temporarily suspended or postponed, and a new radical sports protocol has emerged. For most sports there are few recommendations based on scientific evidence for returning to team-game activities following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the extended duration of lockdown, and self-training or detraining in the COVID-19 environment, and this is especially true for basketball. A post-lockdown return to the basketball court ultimately depends on the teams-coaches, trainers, players, and medical staff. Nevertheless, our current scientific knowledge is evidently insufficient as far as safety and return-to-play timing are concerned. This situation presents a major challenge to basketball competition in terms of organization, prioritization, maintaining physical fitness, and decision-making. While preparing an adequate basketball return program, the players' health is the major priority. In this article we briefly discuss the topic and propose multiple strategies.
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