Basketball is a high-speed and physical sport with millions of people participating annually. There is an estimated over 1 million injuries per year associated with basketball. Before March Madness can happen, don’t let the madness of injury affect you!
Basketball injuries mostly occur in the lower body.
The most common acute musculoskeletal basketball injuries include:
- ankle sprains
- knee injuries such as ligament tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or collateral ligaments and meniscus tears.
- Jammed fingers,
- thigh contusions (bruising) and
- facial cuts
There are several overuse injuries commonly seen in basketball as well:
- lower extremity stress fractures
- patella tendonitis, and
- Osgood-Schlatter Syndrome in the adolescent athlete
Injury Prevention
Many basketball injuries can be prevented. Prior to sports participation, the athlete should undergo a pre-season physical examination. NSMI offers pre-season sports physicals year-round! Schedule your appointment now.
Basketball can be a very dehydrating sport so maintaining proper hydration and nutrition is essential to the athlete. Many athletes are talented, but talent is not enough to make an athlete excel. Basketball players must properly condition for their sport in order to participate at a higher level. Proper conditioning includes cross training to prevent overuse injuries and stretching to improve flexibility. Most importantly, athletes should not progress through pain!
Treatments
Basketball injuries can be treated conservatively, and in some cases surgically. Most sprains, and strains can be treated with ice, rest, bracing, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy and activity modification while healing.
Many fractures can be treated conservatively with cast immobilization. Some injuries, such as ligament injuries and certain fractures, may require surgical intervention by an orthopedist specializing in sports medicine.
The National Sports Medicine Institute is a full-service sports medicine and orthopedic clinic situated in Lansdowne, Virginia. The clinic services include state of the art sports injury evaluation and treatment by highly trained orthopedic sports medicine specialists. The clinic also offers coordinated state of the art diagnostic imaging and physical therapy services.
Article created by: Shannon L. Nicholson DNP, FNP
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