Basketball
is a popular sport, especially among children and young adults. But the
sport carries a risk for injury, whether played in an organized league
or with friends on a local park court:
- More than 200,000 basketball-related injuries occur to young people under age 15 each year requiring treatment in hospital emergency departments.
- Basketball is the fourth leading cause of injury in both unorganized settings and organized community team sports.
- Injuries to basketball players are usually minor, mostly sprains and strains . The ankle and knee are the most common sites of injury, followed by the lower back, hand, and wrist.
- Eye injuries are frequent, usually as a result of being hit with fingers or elbows. Along with baseball, basketball is one of the leading causes of sports-related eye injuries in children.
- Along with baseball, basketball accounts for nearly half of all sports-related mouth injuries .
- At the high school and recreational levels, injuries occur more frequently during practice; college players are injured more often during games.
- Girls
and women appear to have a slightly higher rate of injury than boys and
men. And many of the injuries female players sustain are more serious
than those of their male counterparts (e.g., knee injuries)
- According to a study by the National Athletic Trainers Association ,
two players on every high school basketball team in the country,
regardless of gender, are likely to be injured during a season.
Types of Injuries
Of injuries suffered by high school basketball players, the NATA study found that the most common were:
- Sprains (a partial or complete tear of a ligaments around a joint -- wrist, finger, knee, ankle , toe)(44.6% boys, 44.2% girls).
- General trauma (26.5% boys; 19.6% girls)
- Strains (a partial or complete tear of a muscles or tendons) (13.3% boys, 16.2% girls)
- Body part injured
- Ankle/foot (38.3% boys, 36.0% girls)
- Hip/thigh/leg (14.7% boys, 16.6% girls)
- Knee (10.3% boys, 13.0% girls)
- Forearm/wrist/hand (11.5% boys, 11.2% girls)
- Face/scalp (12.2% boys, 8.8% girls)
Injury Severity
According to the NATA study, the severity of the injuries was as follows:
- More than three
out of four (79.4% for boys, 76.0% for girls) of the injuries were
minor (the injury caused the player to miss the remainder of the
practice or game, but he or she was able to play again within 7 days)
- 12.4%
of the boys’ injuries and 15.1% of the injuries to girls were
considered moderate (causing the player to miss the remainder of the
practice or game and the next 8 to 21 days;
- Less than one in 10 (8.2% for boys, 9.0% for girls) were major (causing the player to be out more than 21 days).
- Only 2.6% of the injured boys and 3.0% of the injured girls required surgery for their injuries.
- Of those injuries requiring surgery, knee injuries accounted for 44.5% of the total for boys and 50% of the total for girls.
The percentages for the moderate
and severe categories represented a 31% reduction from the percentages
found during an identical NATA study conducted a decade earlier between
1986 and 1988.
Cause of Injury
The most common causes of injuries are:
- Scrambling for loose balls (34.4% boys; 36.3% girls)
- Controlled pattern activity (27.7% boys; 32.6% girls)
- Rebounding (26.0% boys; 30.8% girls)
Teaser title:
Basketball Injuries: Most Common, Risks and Types
Teaser text:
Basketball is a popular sport, especially among children and young adults. But the sport carries a risk for injury, whether played in an organized league or with friends on a local park court: