Injuries in Basketball

Ninety players of 8 teams in 2 male team basketball senior divisions were observed prospectively for 1 season to study the injury incidence in relation to exposure in games and practices. Forty-six injuries were recorded. Injury incidence was evaluated at 2.5 injuries per 1000 player-hours, with a significantly higher incidence in game injuries (14.3 injuries per 1000 game-hours) compared with practice injuries(0.6 injuries per 1000 practice-hours).Practice injury incidence was higher in the lower performance level group, and game injury incidence was higher in the high-level group. The upper extremity was involved in 37% of the injuries, and the lower extremity in 54%.The knee was the most commonly injured joint, followed by the finger, ankle, and shoulder. Knee injuries were the most severe injuries, and they were more frequent in high-level players. There was an increase in the severity of injury with respect to performance level. The injury mechanism revealed a high number of offensive injuries, one-third of them occurring during a counterattack. The injury pattern showed certain variations with respect to player position and performance level.