Prevention of Patellar and Achilles Tendinopathies in Youth Basketball

1. BACKGROUND & RATIONALE Basketball is one of the most popular youth sports in the United States and Canada. Knee and ankle injuries are the most common injuries in youth basketball (40%). Patellar and Achilles tendinopathies (PATs) are of particular concern in elite level basketball with a prevalence of 32% for patellar tendinopathy in elite male athletes (60% career prevalence). The risk for injury may be initiated in youth basketball where overuse injury incidence increases with age. Previously reported PAT injury rates likely underestimate the burden of overuse injury in youth basketball as current surveillance guidelines are optimized for acute injury and there are no guidelines on appropriate tendinopathy diagnosis in youth athletes. Current knowledge on basketball-related injuries (acute and overuse) in adolescent athletic community is sparse. Jump loads, landing mechanics, joint morphology and tendon structure changes may be predictive of tendinopathy. However, their consequences on PAT risk in basketball remain to be investigated using prospective cohort study methodologies. Encouragingly, the potential for mediating injury risk in youth sport through neuromuscular training programs has been demonstrated. A basketball specific neuromuscular training program (BSpecNMT) in turn may be efficacious for primary PAT prevention. Clearly, there is an urgent need to advance the current state of injury surveillance, prevention programs, sport-specific risk factors for PATs and structural consequences of PATs in youth basketball.
2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Primary Objectives 1) To quantify the prevalence and severity of patellar and Achilles tendinopathies and assess associated risk factors in youth basketball (Year 1); and 2) To evaluate the efficacy of a BSpecNMT program in reducing patellar and Achilles tendinopathies and all injuries in youth basketball players (Year 2 and 3).
3. METHODS A Hybrid (effectiveness-implementation) Type 2 RCT design will be conducted. Teams will be randomized into either a comprehensive or standard intervention delivery group. All coaches will attend one pre-season coach workshop for the basketball specific neuromuscular (BSpecNMT) warm-up program. The workshop was led by a physiotherapist, athletic trainer, or strength and conditioning coach before the start of the season. During the pre-season coach workshop, coaches will take part in a theoretical and practical session about basketball injury prevention and warm-up exercises. Coaches in the both study groups will be instructed to carry out the 10-minute warm-up program at the beginning of all training sessions.

In addition, the comprehensive intervention group will receive weekly visits at team practices from a research physiotherapist, athletic trainer, or strength and conditioning coach. These visits will provide the team guidance with the BSpecNMT warm-up to facilitate proper technique and appropriate progression of the BSpecNMT warm-up exercises.

All teams will have their adherence to the BSpecNMT recorded on a weekly basis by a Team Designate. In addition, injuries will be prospectively monitored through a weekly self-report questionnaire, a post-season questionnaire (completed by players) and injury report form (completed by team designates). Also, Coaches' knowledge and attitudes to injury prevention will be registered by surveys during the pre-season, post-workshop, post-season, 6-month post-season, and 12-month post-season timepoints.