Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

Injury Prevention for Lower Extremities in Basketball: A Literature Review

Basketball is a very demanding sport. This fast-paced sport requires ballistic movements, agility, maximal anaerobic power and endurance, and upper/lower body strength, leading to many opportunities for injuries. Research shows that more than 1.6 million injuries are caused from basketball. In addition, a study of NBA players shows that out of 12,594 reported injuries, 62.4% were lower extremities. The most common injuries reported were ankle sprains and ACL injuries. The studies in this literature review discuss injury prevention programs that focus on reducing common lower-extremity injuries. These studies focused on proprioceptive control, hip-joint function, and improving neuromuscular based on a sport-specific basketball training program to help with injury prevention for ankle sprains and ACL injuries. To improve proprioceptive control, the studies implemented exercises concentrated on unilateral training for the lower body. The hip-joint function was enhanced through improving hip strength, balance, and executing appropriate technique for jump-landing maneuvers. The neuromuscular training program included jump training, dynamic warm-ups, and flexibility exercises, in addition to speed, endurance, agility, acceleration, and strength drills. The studies showed reduction in those common injuries. In addition, they showed improvements in performance, stability, and movement control. These studies show that strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, and physical therapists can implement these exercises in their training and rehab programs to reduce those common injuries and reduce the re-occurrences of those injuries.