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Cassinat J, Crowley M, Simpson J, Service BC. Changes in injury type among NBA athletes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. PHYSICIAN SPORTSMED 2024; 52:486-491. [PMID: 38275138 DOI: 10.1080/00913847.2024.2311051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
CONTEXT The 2019-2020 NBA season was altered significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic with a midseason suspension of games, the NBA 'bubble' tournament, and a shortened offseason. Concerns were raised regarding player conditioning and the potential increased risk of injury due to the schedule changes. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated schedule changes on NBA injuries. It was hypothesized that injury rates would be higher in the year following the pandemic and teams who participated in the bubble would have higher injury rates in the following season than non-bubble teams. Furthermore, the types of injuries would shift toward more severe injuries in the condensed 2019-20 season and the following 2020-21 season. DESIGN Retrospective Cohort Study. METHODS The NBA's public injury reports were queried to identify players listed on an injury report. Standardized injury events were calculated for four pre-COVID-19 seasons (2015-2019), the COVID-19 season (2019-2020), and the post-COVID-19 season (2020-2021). Injury characteristics including type and location were extracted for each year and differences within each period were calculated. RESULTS When excluding injury events related to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, the overall injury events per 1000 exposures were not significantly different between time periods of pre-COVID-19, COVID-19, and post-COVID-19 seasons; (p = 0.199), and no difference was found in the rates of teams who participated in the bubble. Injuries, including soreness and strains, significantly decreased while fracture injuries significantly increased in the COVID-19 year. CONCLUSIONS The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increased number of games missed, but no increase in injury rates when accounting for health and safety protocols. Additionally, bubble participation had no impact on injury rates. However, despite no changes in injury rates, the types of injuries changed with an increased proportion of severe injuries and decreased proportion of minor injuries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Cassinat
- University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Matthew Crowley
- University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Jeffrey Simpson
- University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Benjamin C Service
- University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando, FL, USA
- Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute, Orlando, FL, USA
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Allahabadi S, Galivanche AR, Coss N, Tenzing N, Gatto AP, Murray JC, Allahabadi S, Pandya NK. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Did Not Substantially Impact Injury Patterns or Performance of Players in the National Basketball Association From 2016 to 2021. Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil 2024; 6:100841. [PMID: 38205401 PMCID: PMC10776416 DOI: 10.1016/j.asmr.2023.100841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Purpose To perform a descriptive epidemiologic analysis of National Basketball Association (NBA) injuries from 2016 to 2021, to evaluate the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19) on injury patterns and performance statistics, and to determine the effect of infection with SARS-CoV-2 on individual performance statistics. Methods Injury epidemiology in the NBA from the 2016 to 2021 seasons was collected using a comprehensive online search. Injuries and time missed were categorized by injury location and type. Player positions and timing of injury were recorded. Performance statistics were collected including traditional game statistics and Second Spectrum (speed, distance) statistics. Comparisons were made over seasons and comparing the pre-COVID-19 pandemic seasons to the pandemic era seasons. Players diagnosed with COVID-19 were analyzed for changes in performance in the short or long term. Results Of the 3,040 injuries captured, 1,880 (61.84%) were in the lower extremity. Guards (77.44%) and forwards (75.88%) had a greater proportion of soft-tissue injuries (P < .001) than centers. Guards had the highest proportion of groin (3.27%, P = .001) and hamstring (6.21%, P < .001) injuries. Despite minor differences on a per-season basis, there were no differences in injury patterns identified between pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 eras. Of players diagnosed with COVID-19 during the NBA Bubble, there were no detriments in short- or long-term performance identified, including traditional game statistics and speed and distance traveled. Conclusions In the NBA seasons from 2016 to 2021, most injuries were to the lower extremity. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic did not substantially impact injury patterns in the NBA, including locations of injury and type of injury (bony or soft tissue). Furthermore, infection with SARS-CoV-2 does not appear to have a significant impact on performance in basketball-specific or speed and distance measures. Level of Evidence Level IV, prognostic case series.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sachin Allahabadi
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, U.S.A
| | - Anoop R. Galivanche
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, U.S.A
| | - Nathan Coss
- School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, U.S.A
| | - Norbu Tenzing
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, U.S.A
| | - Andrew P. Gatto
- College of Osteopathic Medicine, Touro University California, Vallejo, California, U.S.A
| | - Jerome C. Murray
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A
| | - Sameer Allahabadi
- Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A
| | - Nirav K. Pandya
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, U.S.A
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Calleja-González J, Mallo J, Cos F, Sampaio J, Jones MT, Marqués-Jiménez D, Mielgo-Ayuso J, Freitas TT, Alcaraz PE, Vilamitjana J, Ibañez SJ, Cuzzolin F, Terrados N, Bird SP, Zubillaga A, Huyghe T, Jukic I, Lorenzo A, Loturco I, Delextrat A, Schelling X, Gómez-Ruano M, López-laval I, Vazquez J, Conte D, Velarde-Sotres Á, Bores A, Ferioli D, García F, Peirau X, Martin-Acero R, Lago-Peñas C. A commentary of factors related to player availability and its influence on performance in elite team sports. Front Sports Act Living 2023; 4:1077934. [PMID: 36726395 PMCID: PMC9885271 DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2022.1077934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Julio Calleja-González
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of the Basque Country, (UPV/EHU), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain,Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia,Strength and Conditioning Society, Rome, Italy,Correspondence: Julio Calleja-González
| | - Javier Mallo
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte (INEF), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francesc Cos
- Manchester City Football Club 1 Team, Manchester City, United Kingdom,National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jaime Sampaio
- Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, CIDESD, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal
| | - Margaret T. Jones
- School of Kinesiology, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia, VA, United States
| | - Diego Marqués-Jiménez
- Valoración del rendimiento deportivo, actividad física y salud y lesiones deportivas (REDAFLED), Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Corporal Expression, Faculty of Education, University of Valladolid, Soria, Spain
| | - Juan Mielgo-Ayuso
- Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | - Tomás T. Freitas
- Strength and Conditioning Society, Rome, Italy,UCAM Research Center for High Performance Sport, Catholic University San Antonio, Murcia, Spain,NAR - Nucleus of High Performance in Sport, São Paulo, Brazil,Faculty of Sport Sciences, Catholic University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Pedro E. Alcaraz
- Strength and Conditioning Society, Rome, Italy,UCAM Research Center for High Performance Sport, Catholic University San Antonio, Murcia, Spain
| | | | - Sergio J. Ibañez
- Group for Optimization of Training and Sport Performance (GOERD), Faculty of Sport Science, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain
| | | | - Nicolás Terrados
- Regional Unit of Sports Medicine and Health Research Institute of the Principality of Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
| | - Stephen P. Bird
- School of Health and Medical Sciences Ipswich, Queensland, QLD, Australia
| | - Asier Zubillaga
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of the Basque Country, (UPV/EHU), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - Thomas Huyghe
- UCAM Research Center for High Performance Sport, Catholic University San Antonio, Murcia, Spain
| | - Igor Jukic
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Alberto Lorenzo
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte (INEF), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irineu Loturco
- Strength and Conditioning Society, Rome, Italy,NAR - Nucleus of High Performance in Sport, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Anne Delextrat
- Strength and Conditioning Society, Rome, Italy,Health Sciences and Social Work, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Xavi Schelling
- School of Health and Medical Sciences Ipswich, Queensland, QLD, Australia
| | - Miguel Gómez-Ruano
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte (INEF), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isaac López-laval
- Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Zaragoza, Huesca, Spain
| | - Jairo Vazquez
- Sport Performance Area, Fútbol Club Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniele Conte
- Institute of Sport Science and Innovations, Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania,Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Rome, Italy
| | - Álvaro Velarde-Sotres
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Santander, Spain,Departamento de Salud, Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana, Campeche, México
| | - Antonio Bores
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Santander, Spain
| | - Davide Ferioli
- UCAM Research Center for High Performance Sport, Catholic University San Antonio, Murcia, Spain
| | - Franc García
- Sport Performance Area, Fútbol Club Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xavier Peirau
- Research Group Into Human Movement, Institut Nacional d'Educació Física de Catalunya (INEFC), Lleida, Spain
| | - Rafael Martin-Acero
- Grupo de Aprendizaje y Control del Movimiento Humano. Facultade de Ciencias do Deporte e a Educación Física. Universidade da Coruña. Oleiros, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Carlos Lago-Peñas
- Faculty of Education and Sport Sciences, Governance and Economics Research Network, University of Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain
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