Abstract
Basketball is one of the most popular sports in Lithuania, and participation in women’s basketball is on the rise. Pre-participation examinations, including musculoskeletal screening and functional performance testing, is an essential part of a multidisciplinary approach to prevent future injuries. Because the lower extremities are the most commonly-injured body area in basketball players. Assessing fundamental movement qualities is of utmost importance. The aim of our study was to determine if functional tests can predict sports injuries in elite female basketball players. A total of 351 records for professional female basketball players were screened during 2013–2016 season. We analysed functional characteristics before the season and used functional performance tests for injury risk assessment: the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), the lower quarter Y Balance test (YBT-LQ) and the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS). Data from 169 players’ records were analysed: 77 of them made it to the end of season without injury, making up the non-injured group, while 92 of them suffered lower limb sport injuries during the sport season (injury group). Student’s t-test and the Mann-Whitney U-test were used to determine differences between groups. The most commonly encountered sports injuries in our population were those of knee 40.2% and ankle 38%. The injury group had a lower total FMS score (p = 0.0001) and higher total LESS score (p = 0.028) than non-injury group. The dynamic balance of lower limbs was similar in both groups. Imperfect functional movement patterns and poor jump-landing biomechanics during pre-season screening were associated with lower extremity injuries in elite female basketball players. Impairments of dynamic stability in the lower extremities were not associated with injury rates in our population. A combination of functional tests can be used for injury risk evaluation in female basketball players.
Highlights
The popularity of basketball is on the rise, with an estimated 11% of the world’s population (450 million people) currently playing basketball in 213 countries affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA)[1]
Pre-season evaluation consisted of the Y balance test (YBT-LQ), functional movement screen (FMS) and the landing error scoring system (LESS)
The data were compared with 77 players who were injury-free during the following athletic season, called the ‘non-injury group’
Summary
The popularity of basketball is on the rise, with an estimated 11% of the world’s population (450 million people) currently playing basketball in 213 countries affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA)[1]. Playing any sport comes with a considerable probability of injury for elite athletes[3,4] and basketball players in particular, both amateur and professional, are at high risk. Studies of professional female basketball players in the United States have shown that they sustain 60% more injuries[11]. The dangers and risks associated with playing basketball may result in serious injury, but may seriously impair athletes’ ability to earn a living or to engage in other professional, social and recreational activities, and impact their overall quality of life in general. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA)[12] highlights musculoskeletal injury as a common cause of reduced sports activities (i.e., a loss of training and game time)
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