BASKETBALL INJURIES – An Overview

The ankles, lower legs and knees are the most common sites for basketball injuries. The most frequent injuries are ankle sprains. The following is a classification of injuries based on area of the body.

ANKLE & FOOT

Ankle sprains
Ankle sprains are the most common basketball injury, resulting from a player landing in the wrong position or stepping on another player's foot. This leads to various grades of ligament tearing from mild to a complete tear, depending on the severity of the injury. Due to the high recurrence rate of ankle sprains, it is extremely important to rehabilitate the injury fully with ankle strengthening and stability exercises.

Heel or arch pain
The cause of pain in the feet is often excessive running, repeated jumping and landing. If you have flat feet, pronated feet (collapsed arches) or high arches, you are at greater risk. With flat or pronated feet, more weight is borne on the inside of the leg, resulting in poor shock distribution. On the other hand, a foot with high arches is rigid, resulting in more shock up the leg. Appropriate footwear and for some people, orthotics (inserts) is the solution.

KNEE

Jumper’s knee
Jumper’s knee or patella tendonitis is an overuse injury characterized by pain in the tendon just below the knee cap. As the name suggests, it is caused by intense running and jumping. Tight and weak muscles of the thigh, namely the quadriceps muscle and flat or pronated feet are often contributing factors. Treatment involves ultrasound, deep tissue massage and addressing the contributing factors.

Knee ligament sprain or tear

A sprain refers to micro-tears in one or more of the ligaments that support the knee. A tear is more significant and may be partial or complete. A significant tear will cause instability to the knee, characterized by shifting of the bones that make up the knee joint and a feeling of giving way. Some tears require surgical repair while others respond well to just physiotherapy rehabilitation.

Cartilage tear If you twist your knee, you can tear a meniscus, which is a tissue that acts as a cushion in the knee joint. To repair or remove a torn meniscus, you might need arthroscopic or key-hole surgery followed by physiotherapy to regain full motion and strength in your knee.

THIGH & CALF

Muscle pull or tear
In basketball players, muscle injuries occur primarily in the large muscles of the legs, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles. It happens normally when over-stretching and sudden, intense muscle contractions during play. The Achilles tendon can become inflamed from overuse or tear suddenly after an intense contraction. In the case of a complete tear, the tendon will require surgical repair. Tight muscles and an inadequate warm-up will increase your risk of muscle strains and tears.

SHOULDER

Rotator cuff strain
The rotator cuff is a set of four important muscles of the shoulder. Inflammation of the tendons of these muscles can occur from repetitive overhead activity, such as shooting the basket. Muscle imbalances and incorrect movement patterns of the shoulder and scapula can predispose to tendonitis, impingement and rotator cuff strain. Treatment involves restoring muscle balance and correcting shoulder movement patterns.

HAND & FINGERS

Finger sprain, dislocation or fracture
Injuries to the finger are often a result of traumatic contact with the ball, the hoop or the ground. This may be in the form of a minor sprain of the ligaments, a dislocation or fracture of the bones in the finger. Treatment will depend on the condition.

The immediate first aid for most injuries is RICE – Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation for the first 48 to 72 hours. Understanding the nature of your injury, applying appropriate first aid and avoiding aggravating activities is the first step towards healing. Proper rehabilitation will facilitate full recovery and a quicker return to sport.

Written by Trina Lee, Physiotherapist from PHYSIONIQUE
www.physionique.com
E-mail: admin@physionique.com
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