Pregame Hydration Status of Collegiate Basketball Players on Consecutive Days of Play

Abstract

Collegiate basketball teams typically compete on non-consecutive days, allowing players ample time to recover from fluid loss incurred during a game and return to a euhydrated state before the next contest. However, some NCAA conferences, tournaments and invitationals require play on consecutive days, possibly leading to greater occurrences of hypohydration, which could impair performance and/or increase injury risk. PURPOSE: To evaluate pregame hydration status of collegiate basketball players on consecutive days of competition and determine if these measures are associated with game performance. METHODS: Twenty-five collegiate basketball players (14 men, 11 women) from a NCAA Division II university participated in this study. Players’ urine specific gravity (USG) and body weight (BW) were assessed 1-2 hours prior to the start of 8 pairs of regular season conference games (16 games total) played on consecutive days (Fri & Sat). Upon arrival to the locker room, each athlete was weighed on a digital scale, wearing similar clothing each time, and provided a urine sample. USG was assessed using a hand-held clinical refractometer. Box score data were used to calculate player efficiency (PE) ratings as measures of in-game statistical performance. RESULTS: On Sat, 61.8% of players had a BW deficit (-0.60 ± 0.42 kg) compared to Fri, with 20.2% presenting with a BW deficit ≥ 1%; however, Fri vs. Sat BW differences were not significant (P = 0.693). Overall, 25.2% of players had USG values 1.020-1.024 and 27.0% of players had USG values ≥ 1.025 before their games. Players had USG values ≥ 1.020 more often on Fri (56.2%) than Sat (48.2%), though this difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.834). Neither changes in BW (P = 0.659) nor USG (P = 0.854) from Fri to Sat were significantly associated with PE on Sat. CONCLUSION: Approximately 50% of players were mildly to severely hypohydrated before the start of each game; yet hypohydration rates were similar before games played on consecutive days. Still, the majority of players had modest BW deficits before games played on the second day, indicating insufficient rehydration from the prior game. Although collegiate basketball players were consistently hypohydrated before their games, hydration status was not associated with statistical performance in these contests.