Basketball has been an organized sport since the 1890s and is considered a limited contact sport. It involves a tremendous amount of running with explosive movements and rapid changes in direction and pace. Extreme stresses on the body during play result in many acute musculoskeletal injuries, whereas the ability to play year round and at most ages leads to many overuse injuries.

With the great popularity of basketball, most teams at the high school level and beyond have associated physicians or certified athletic trainers who are responsible for injury prevention and medical care; however, care for the athlete falls to the hands of many health care providers because many injuries occur outside of organized play (21,35).

Injury rates in basketball are increasing as popularity rises and the nature of the sport becomes more aggressive (8,35).

Nearly one million people are involved in basketball injuries each year in the United States. Population-based injury rates are 3.9 per 1,000, but player injury rates are seen as high as 50% in some European professional leagues (16).

An epidemiologic study of 100 representative U.S. high schools over the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons reported an injury rate of 1.94 per 1,000 athlete exposures (AEs) (8).

Several studies demonstrate no significant difference in the risk for injury between males and females (20,32); others have shown that females are more frequently injured than males (2.08/1,000 AEs vs. 1.83/1,000 AEs) (8).

College injury rates are 5.7 per 1,000 athlete exposures for males and 5.6 for females (32).

High school players are more likely to be injured during competition than college players (3.27/1,000 AEs vs. 1.4/1,000 AEs) (8). Between 62% and 64% of injuries in college basketball occur during practice (32), whereas 53%-58% of high school basketball injuries occur during practice (34). In the National Basketball Association (NBA), 49.9% of reported injuries over 17 years were sustained during games (12).

Basketball has the highest per capita injury rate for all sports in the age group 14-25 years, ranks second in ages 5-14 years, and third in ages 25 years and up (11).

Approximately 17.5% of sports-related emergency room visits and 13.5% of sports-related visits to primary care physicians are basketball related (11).

Sprains are the most common type of injury in basketball. Sprains account for 32%-34% of injuries at the collegiate level (32) and 44% at the high school level (8).

Children are more susceptible to overuse injuries due to open physes, especially at the elbow, knee, and ankle (9).

Following European professional players over 2 years, there were 37 surgeries (8.7%) performed on a total of 423 injuries (16); 6.9%-8.1% of U.S. high school basketball injuries required surgery (8) (Table 83.1).

Fungal infections are prevalent in athletes, and tinea pedis is the most common dermatophytosis. High-top shoes, perspiration, friction, and poor foot care contribute to recurrent problems. Drying feet, changing socks, absorbent powders (without corn starch), and over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription antifungals are effective treatment measures. Similar measures should be taken to treat tinea cruris or “jock itch,” which is also common in athletes.

Blisters are another common problem that can cause significant problems for the basketball athlete. Rigid footwear and significant movement inside of the shoe cause this to occur as the shear stresses between epidermal layers cause fluid to build up. These can be safely drained under sterile conditions if full and tense, and these areas should be protected with Vaseline, moleskin, etc., and treated with topical antibiotics if there are open lesions. Proper footwear, including cushion socks, and conditioning can prevent blisters.

Concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) occurs in basketball from two mechanisms — player-to-player contact or contact with the floor (8).

MTBI comprises 3.3% of injuries in male basketball players < 20 years old and 5.2% in females < 20 years old, which represents a twofold increase in males and a threefold increase in girls over a 10-year period (35) and reflects the higher incidence of MTBI in females of all age groups. Player collisions are the most likely etiology, and most of these occur in the open court, not under the basket (33).

Basketball involves significant physiologic stress as reflected in findings from professional players. Heart rates average 169 bpm and are above 85% predicted maximum for 75% of competitive playing time (26).

Hypertension is seen in basketball, even though many players are young. Blood pressure elevation over 140 mm Hg systolic and 90 mm Hg diastolic on two separate readings should be investigated. Family history, supplement and medication use, and substance abuse should be considered while investigating other secondary causes.

Blood pressure should be controlled before allowing exercise. In mild and moderate hypertension, exercise is often part of a treatment plan, but in severe hypertension, it is contraindicated. When choosing treatment options, medications with negative performance side effects such as diuretics and nonselective β-blockers should be a last resort (4).

Sudden cardiac death is a rare but serious threat, with an incidence of one in 11,394 in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball players. Incidence is significantly higher in males and in black athletes, with a prevalence of one in 3,000 Division I male basketball players based on a study from 2004-2008 (15). This represents a significantly higher incidence than previously estimated, and basketball players have been found to be at higher risk for sudden cardiac death than any other athletes (15,25). This could be linked to a predisposition for basketball players to be tall and thin, or Marfanoid, or to a predisposition for a higher prevalence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in young African American athletes (24).

Preparticipation examination with a focus on history taking is the best method to prevent sudden death but has not been proven to improve morbidity or mortality.

High-risk individuals with a family history of premature or sudden death, history of exercise-related syncope, or findings of Marfan syndrome should be identified for further testing.