Common Basketball Injuries


Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the United States and throughout the world. Millions of people participate in the sport at all levels of competition. Whether you are playing for the neighborhood championship or the NBA title, you can get injured.

Basketball injuries can be separated into two general categories: overuse injuries and traumatic injuries.

Overuse injuries

Injuries caused by stressing an area over and over until it is damaged and begins to hurt are described as overuse injuries. One such injury is patellar tendinitis, or “jumper’s knee,” which is characterized by pain in the tendon just below the kneecap.

Achilles tendinitis is another common overuse injury in basketball players. This injury of the tendon connecting the muscles in the back of the calf to the heel bone causes pain in the back of the leg just above the heel. Occasionally, the Achilles tendon can tear. To treat a torn Achilles tendon, the doctor might tell you to keep the area immobilized for some time so the tendon can heal, or you might need surgery to repair the damage.

Some basketball players overuse the tendons in their shoulders. The rotator cuff of the shoulder is composed of four muscles. The tendons that attach these muscles to the shoulder bones can become inflamed and painful, particularly when you do repetitive overhead activities, such as shooting the basketball.

Traumatic injuries

Traumatic injuries are those caused by a sudden forceful injury. Some of the more common traumatic injuries in basketball are jammed fingers. The severity of a jammed finger can range from a minor injury of the ligaments, which connect bones, to a broken finger. Splinting may be needed to allow the injured finger to heal. Another type of traumatic injury is a muscle pull or tear. In basketball players, these injuries occur primarily in the large muscles of the legs. To prevent them, stretch your thighs and calves well and do warm-up exercises before playing.

Ankle sprains

The most common basketball injury is the ankle sprain. This injury often occurs when a player lands on another player’s foot or the ankle rolls too far outward. When this happens, the ligaments connecting bones and supporting the ankle are stretched and torn. The ligaments can tear partially or completely. To treat your sprain, your doctor prescribes a short period of immobilization, keeping the joint still, so the ligaments can heal. After immobilization, you begin special exercises to strengthen the muscles that help hold your ankle in place. If your muscles and ligaments are not strong enough to prevent reinjury, you might need surgery to repair the damage and to help stabilize your ankle.

Knee injuries

Knee injuries are some of the most serious basketball injuries. One type of knee injury is a sprain. A knee sprain is a small tear in the ligaments or joint capsule that is not severe enough to cause your knee to give way. To help the tear heal, you must protect your knee for a short time by immobilizing it. After the tear heals, your doctor will prescribe stretching and strengthening exercises for the muscles that help hold the knee in place.

If you twist your knee, you can tear a meniscus, which is tissue that acts as a cushion between the bones of the upper and lower leg at the knee. To repair or remove a torn meniscus, you might need arthroscopic surgery. The surgeon inserts a camera and instruments into the knee joint through small skin incisions. With the instruments, the surgeon can see and treat the damaged meniscus.

A more severe injury is a complete tear of one or more of the ligaments that support the knee. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the more commonly torn ligaments in the knee. This ligament connects the upper and lower leg bones and helps hold the knee in place. if you damage your ACL, your knee will probably hurt and give way persistently. After an ACL injury, some players can participate in sports again without surgery. But they must do special exercises to strengthen their thigh muscles, and they must wear a brace on their knee. Strong thigh muscles give stability to the knee that the torn ACL cannot.

Call Non-Surgical Orthopaedics, P.C. today  at 770-421-1420 for more information about preventing and treating basketball injuries.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *