Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Injuries, Pain, and Illnesses in Elite Female Basketball Players

Stiffness characteristics of the lower extremities in Women's Chinese Basketball Association competition athletes: normative values and position differences

Purpose

Higher stiffenss is expected to augment performance by increasing the utilisation of elastic energy. However, excessive lower extremity stiffness increases the risk of bony injuries; while insufficient stiffness is associated with a higher likelihood of soft tissue injuries. Thus, there might be an 'optimal' stiffness value or range that allows for maximising athletic performance while simultaneously minimising risk of sports injury. Basketball players can be classified by position as centres, guards and forwards, with each position characterised by specific injury risks and exercise patterns. Therefore, this study aims to establish normative data for lower extremity stiffness characteristics of players in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) and compare the characteristics based on position.

Methods

A total of 124 WCBA athletes (over 70% of the WCBA teams) were recruited for this study, including 63 forwards, 22 centres and 39 guards. Stiffness was evaluated before and during the 2020-2021 WCBA season, which was averaged for data analysis. Quasi-static stiffness measurements of muscles and tendons were collected via a handheld myometer on seven sites of each leg. Vertical stiffness was also evaluated by OptoGait system.

Results

Descriptive statistics were used to establish the normative values of stiffness for forwards, centres and guards. The Kruskal Wallis test and post hoc Bonferroni pairwise comparisons found significant higher stiffness of the left patellar tendon (PT) in guards than centres (p = 0.004) and in guards than forwards (p = 0.012), right PT stiffness in guards than centres (p = 0.016) and in guards than forwards (p = 0.017), mean PT stiffness in guards than centres (p = 0.003) and in guards than forwards (p = 0.008); stiffness of the right soleus (SOL) in guards than forwards (p = 0.033), stiffness of the left biceps femoris (BF) in forwards than centres (p = 0.049) and in guards than centres (p = 0.038); and stiffness of the left vertical stiffness (hopping) in forwards than centres (p = 0.041).

Conclusion

Forwards, centres and guards were characterised by significantly different stiffness values, which could be utilised for improvement of athletic performance and injury prevention.

Pain Education in the Wellness, Training Performance, and Pain Intensity of Youth Athletes: An Experimental Study

BACKGROUND

Although pain management programs reduce pain and improve wellness perception in the general population, few studies have explored these effects in athletes. This study evaluated the effects of an educational program about pain neuroscience on wellness, training performance, and pain in youth athletes. Differences according to sex were also explored.

METHODS

For 12 weeks, 52 athletes were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG: educational program about healthy sports habits and pain neuroscience) or a control group (CG: education on healthy sports habits only). Before the start of the study and weekly until its end, wellness, training performance, and pain intensity were monitored via a questionnaire.

RESULTS

After the intervention, IG decreased stress (p = 0.028) compared to the baseline, and a higher number of training sessions were performed without health problems (76.6%) compared to the number in the CG (63.0%) (χ2 = 8.31, p = 0.004). Regarding pain, the IG perceived lower pain than the CG did (p = 0.028). Females in the IG had lower pain than those in the CG did (p < 0.05), without differences in other variables or in males (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

An educational program that includes pain neuroscience may help youth athletes improve their wellness status, pain intensity perception, and training session performance.

Prospective epidemiological study of basketball injuries during one competitive season in professional and amateur Spanish basketball

INTRODUCTION

There are few Spanish epidemiological studies of basketball injuries, even though it is the second most played sport and the leading sport played by females in Spain.

POPULATION

We studied 117 male and female basketball players from ten amateur or professional teams from four leagues in the 2014-2015 season.

RESULTS

There were 11.6 injuries per 1,000 hours of sporting activity, 9.6 injuries per 1,000 hours of training and 47.3 injuries per 1,000 hours of competition. The rate of injuries requiring downtime was 2.99 per 1,000 hours of training, 41.7 per 1,000 hours of competition and 4.1 per 1,000 hours of sporting activity overall. No significant differences were found in the incidence of injuries between leagues, but a higher incidence by season was found in teams participating in international competitions, due to the increased competition time. The ankle was the main site of injuries causing ≥ 8 days of downtime and knee injuries the site of those causing ≥ 29 days of downtime. The most frequent injuries were sprains, bruises, and muscle overloads and 63.8% of players had ≥ 1 potentially-recurring injury. The most prevalent injuries were ankle sprains (50%), thigh muscle injuries (12.2%) and knee tendinitis (7.4%). The only significant predisposing factor for injury was recurrent injury (adjusted OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.029-3.62). Age, sex, height, weight, position, body mass index, and professional/amateur competition were not significantly associated with the number of injuries or ≥ 7 days downtime in the multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION

Preventive measures should be applied to the team as a whole at an early age, since recurrent injuries only explained a small percentage of the total injuries.

Modulation of Plasma Proteomic Profile by Regular Training in Male and Female Basketball Players: A Preliminary Study

Monitoring fatigue and recovery during training periods contributes to identifying the best training methods to achieve sports performance. To date, little is known about sex-related differences in sports adaptations. The aim of the present study is to identify sex-related sports adaptation proteins in female basketball players and male basketball players using proteomics approach on plasma samples withdrawn from athletes during in-season training period but far from a competition. A cohort of 20 professional basketball players, 10 female (BF) and 10 male (BM), and 20 sedentary male (10 CM) and female (10 CF) as control, of comparable age and BMI, were involved in this study. Protein profiles of plasma samples obtained from BM, BF, CM, and CF were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). Differentially expressed proteins were identified by mass spectrometry. The computational 2-DE gel image analysis pointed out 33 differentially expressed protein spots (ANOVA p-value < 0.05) and differences between male and female basketball players are more evident among the players than controls. The expression profile of 54.5% of the total proteins is affected by sports activity. Furthermore, 14 proteins are differentially expressed in basket female players in comparison with their relative controls while seven are differentially expressed in basket male players in comparison with their controls. In conclusion, we identify in female athletes a reduction in proteins related to transcription regulation, most of these modulate chronic inflammation confirming the anti-inflammatory effect of regular training in female muscle metabolism. In male and female athletes, we found a decrease in Transthyretin involved in muscle homeostasis and regeneration and Dermcidin a stress-induced myokine linked to inflammatory and it will be interesting to fully understand the role of its different isoforms in male and female skeletal muscle contraction.

Redox Homeostasis and Metabolic Profile in Young Female Basketball Players during in-Season Training

BACKGROUND

Most studies on oxidative stress markers and antioxidant levels have been conducted in male athletes, although female participation in sport has increased rapidly in the past few decades. In particular, it could be important to assess oxidative stress markers in relation to the training load because the anaerobic path becomes predominant in high-intensity actions.

METHODS

Ten female professional basketball players, performing five 2 h-lasting training sessions per week, and 10 sedentary control women were investigated. Capillary blood and saliva samples were collected in the morning before the training session. The antioxidant capacity and the levels of reactive oxygen metabolites on plasma were determined measuring Reactive Oxygen Metabolite and Biological Antioxidant Potential (d-ROMs and the BAP Test). Salivary cortisol was detected by using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit.

RESULTS

The antioxidant capacity (BAP value) was significantly higher in elite basketball players (21.2%; p < 0.05). Conversely, cortisol (51%; p < 0.009) and the levels of oxidative species (d-ROM, 21.9%; p < 0.05) showed a significant decrease in elite athletes.