Monitoring players thigh injury risk in response to game loading during an elite U20s basketball camp

Introduction: Match induced fatigue effects have been associated with reduced hamstring and groin strength, and may be related to a concomitant increase in risk of injury. The correlation in high performing basketball athletes however, is presently unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate fatigue effects following basketball match-play on hamstring and adductor strength in elite U20's basketball players.
Methods: Thirty-five elite U20 male basketball athletes (age 16.8 ± 1.1 yrs) attending a national scouting camp at the Australian Institute of Sport were recruited to participate in this study. Participants underwent strength testing via handheld dynamometry pre- and post-game for two officiated games played two days apart. Three maximal voluntary isometric contraction trials were conducted unilaterally using the following protocols: Hamstring: prone position on a 45° wedge placed on an electronic examination bench, using a calibrated load cell attached to the bottom of the bench. Adductors: Copenhagen five-second squeeze test in a supine with a hand-held dynamometer. Grip strength: elbow at 90° of flexion in neutral supination with a hand grip dynamometer. Fatigue effects were assessed with a mixed-effects restricted maximum likelihood regression in Stata 15 (p < 0.05).
Results: The pre and post-game grip strength declined over Game 1 (−4.6 ± 1.1 N, p < 0.00), but did not change over Game 2 (−0.2 ± 1.0 N, p = 0.82). Hamstring strength decreased over Game 1 (−25.2 ± 7.4 N, p < 0.001) and increase over Game 2 (10.2 ± 7.8 N, p = 0.19). Adductor strength remained unchanged Game 1 (0.0 ± 7.6 N, p = 1.00) and increased Game 2 (14.2 ± 8.0, p = 0.08) pre- versus post-game. A small cohort over the camp showed potential signs of being clinically at risk of groin pain due to adductor strength deficits >15%.
Discussion: This is the first study of its kind to investigate the relationship in basketball between thigh injury risk and loading during congested fixtures. Hamstring and grip strength decreased in Game 1 but remained unchanged in Game 2, however, this finding should be cautioned due to their non-normative data, likely due to inadequate recovery and/or varied between-game play styles. Adductor strength remained unchanged over Game 1 and increased Game 2, contradicting a decrease observed during congested fixtures in elite youth soccer players, which is likely due to different games demands of these sports. A minority of players were identified during this camp as being clinically at risk of groin pain. This preliminary research highlights the urgent need for more research to be conducted on game loading related strength changes in basketball players to manage their sporting demands.