Collegiate Basketball Injuries May Resurface Later in Career; Risk Factors for Injury Include Position and Location on Court

5/16/2003

From: Brian Haefs of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, 847-292-4900 or brian@aossm.org

ROSEMONT, Ill., May 16 -- Researchers from Canada have found that college basketball athletes who have injured a specific body part may be vulnerable to re-injury. According to the study, such injuries most often occur in the key and are most commonly suffered by centers.

Among non-contact sports, men's and women's college basketball appears to have the highest frequency of injuries. Previous research has focused more on frequency of injury than on the risks associated with basketball participation.

In a study published in the May-June 2003 issue of The American Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers at the University of Calgary Sports Medicine Centre prospectively collected data with the Canadian Intercollegiate Sports Injury Registry. The purpose of the study was to determine the distribution of injuries by body region and associated time lost from participation in Canadian men's university basketball.

Data spanned 2 years of participation in the Canada West Division of Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union men's basketball (8 teams, 318 athletes). During the 2 years of the study, there were 215 injuries suffered by 142 athletes (44.7 percent). Average time lost per injury was 7.02 sessions (practices or games).

Player-to-player collision accounted for 79.8 percent of contact injuries and 34.9 percent of all injuries. The greatest number of injuries occurred within the 3-point line, likely because of the higher player concentration within this area of the court.

Centers had a considerably higher rate of both contact and noncontact injury than forwards and guards. Centers may have had a greater rate of injury in the jump-off or because they tend to move to areas of highest player concentration.

Regardless of position, players suffering injuries to the knee, elbow, shoulder, hand, and lower spine/pelvis were significantly at risk of repeat injuries to these regions. Ankle sprains were the most common injury diagnosis over the 2 years of the investigation, followed by concussions. In terms of frequency, associated time loss, and relative risk of re-injury, the knee was the most problematic body region.

"This investigation was the first to study the relative risk of a history of injury among basketball players," noted Dr. Willem Meeuwisse, lead researcher of the study, in a separate interview. Meeuwisse concluded, "It is our hope that this work will form a foundation for future studies on injury prevention."

AJSM is a bimonthly publication of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, a world leader in sports medicine education, research, communication, and fellowship. Copies of this paper are available to media upon request from AOSSM Director of Communications Brian Haefs (brian@aossm.org; 847-292-4900). AOSSM press releases can also be found on the Society website, http://www.sportsmed.org.