Injury epidemiology in the first Croatian basketball league

The aim of this study was to providea retrospective overview of injuries during one basketball season and toanalyse injury rates and potential risks among professional male and femalebasketball players in the First Croatian National league. A hundred andforty-two (89 males and 53 females) of 223basketball players (64%) sustained an injury during the previous season. Body height,total game exposure and total on-court time per game (p<.05) were the identifiedrisk factors for females, while the number of training hours per week was foundto be a risk factor for males (p<.05). The highest proportion of injuredplayers was found among centers for men (74%) and forwards (70%) for women. Forty-threepercent of injuries were moderately serious, 31% were minor, and 20% seriousinjuries. Majority (80%) of all injuries were to the lower extremities and mensustained fewer lower extremity injuries compared to women (IRR=0.88 95% CI=0.6to 1.3). Ankles were the most prevalent injury site for both men and women followedby the knee. Men sustained significantly fewer knee injuries compared to femaleathletes (IRR=0.44 95% CI=0.17 to 1.11). The most common injury type wasligament injuries (31%), followed by muscle tears/strains (20%). Game incidenceinjury rate for males was significantly lower than for females (IRR=0.55,p=0.01 [95% CI=0.34-0.89]). Those athletes who, on average, played more than 20minutes in games were almost twice more exposed to an injury (OR=2.09,95%CI=1.17,3.72). This is the first descriptive epidemiological studyestimating rates and risks of injuries among the Croatian professionalbasketball players.