Abstract
Due to concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), major sporting events and activities have been temporarily suspended or postponed, and a new radical sports protocol has emerged. For most sports there are few recommendations based on scientific evidence for returning to team-game activities following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the extended duration of lockdown, and self-training or detraining in the COVID-19 environment, and this is especially true for basketball. A post-lockdown return to the basketball court ultimately depends on the teams—coaches, trainers, players, and medical staff. Nevertheless, our current scientific knowledge is evidently insufficient as far as safety and return-to-play timing are concerned. This situation presents a major challenge to basketball competition in terms of organization, prioritization, maintaining physical fitness, and decision-making. While preparing an adequate basketball return program, the players’ health is the major priority. In this article we briefly discuss the topic and propose multiple strategies.
Highlights
The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has almost brought the world to a halt, having infected more than 157,362,408 people and claimed more than 3,277,834 lives so far (11 May 2021), according to WHO COVID-2019 situation reports [1]
Major sporting events (Olympics, world and national championships, etc.) had to be temporarily suspended following the mandate issued by many countries
We expect lower levels of physical fitness resulting in reduced performance during game-play, increased game-induced fatigue, longer recovery periods following training/games, and increased game-related injury risk in players returning to basketball events after self-training protocols
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Home self-quarantine as a way to combat the spread of the infection was imposed by many countries, the impact of this strategy on sports and the consequences of having no group training, especial at non-professional levels, during the COVID-19 crisis have not been sufficiently investigated. We expect lower levels of physical fitness resulting in reduced performance during game-play, increased game-induced fatigue, longer recovery periods following training/games, and increased game-related injury risk in players returning to basketball events after self-training protocols. Following the COVID-19 lockdown (i.e., a long period of detraining or self-managing training), any abrupt increase in basketball training intensity in order to accelerate biological adaptations and improve physical fitness, in the hope of rapidly reaching pre-COVID-19 levels, would theoretically increase the risk of non-contact injuries [10,11]. In the COVID-19 present (or in any future similar condition or after any significant lay-off), the following general principles can be discerned, based on existing evidence (allowing, for further improvements as more data becomes available)
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