Characteristics of injuries of young adult male basketball players

Introduction
Basketball is characterized by high intensity play and a lot of physical contact. Players are required to be well-trained physically in order to be able to face the dynamics, speed and variability of the game and the training loads to which they are exposed. Basketball is a sport that predisposes the athletes to musculoskeletal injuries. The aim of this study was to characterize the injuries experienced by young adult male basketball players.

Material and methods
Young adult male Polish basketball players from various clubs (17±1.4 years; n = 28; 47%) and amateur basketball players (17±1.4 years; n =30; 53%) took part in this study. To assess the injuries of young basketball players, a survey consisting of 28 questions was used.

Results
The most common injuries were lower limb injuries (54%), of which ankle injuries prevailed (ankle injuries were the most common injuries of all). Upper limb injuries accounted for 36% of all injuries. Of these, subluxations in finger joints occurred most often. Most often, injuries occurred during physical contact with another player (40%). Despite an injury, the players either did not alter the length of their warm-up or they devoted more time to it. In terms of stretching before a training session or a match, differences between players training up to three times a week and players training four or more times per week were statistically significant (χ2 = 8.926, p = 0.012, V = 0.392).

Conclusions
Basketball is a sport that causes injuries. Basketball players mostly experience lower limb injuries.