Internal and External Workload in Youth Basketball Players Who Are Symptomatic and Asymptomatic for Patellar Tendinopathy

Abstract

Objective To examine the differences in external and internal workload in players with and without patellar tendinopathy. Design Nested case-control study. Methods Workload was monitored in 152 players (aged 13–18 years) for a 1-week period, including all practices, games, and conditioning sessions. Players were prescreened into patellar tendinopathy cases and controls without patellar tendinopathy, using the previously validated Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center-patellar tendinopathy questionnaire. Simple linear regression analysis, with adjustment for clustering by team and Bonferroni correction, was used to examine mean differences in measures of external workload (cumulative jump counts and sessions completed) and internal workload (session rating of perceived exertion in arbitrary units) between cases and controls. Results A total of 144 players (19 cases, 125 controls) met the inclusion criteria for final analysis. No significant differences were found between players with patellar tendinopathy and those without patellar tendinopathy in the 3 outcomes: jump count (mean difference, 45 jumps; 98.3% confidence interval [CI]: −41, 130; P = .177), basketball sessions completed (mean difference, 0.9; 98.3% CI: −0.3, 2.2; P = .067), and session rating of perceived exertion (mean difference, 346 arbitrary units; 98.3% CI: −459, 1151; P = .260). Conclusion In the current study, a significant difference in workload was not detected between youth basketball players with patellar tendinopathy and players without patellar tendinopathy. Efforts toward identifying players at early stages of patellar tendinopathy and applying relevant interventions are warranted. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2020;50(7):402–408. Epub 6 Sep 2019. doi:10.2519/jospt.2020.9094

Epidemiology of all‐complaint injuries in youth basketball

“…34 Although research in the area is still limited, a potential intervention for mitigating the risk of overuse injuries in youth basketball is load management strategies, including evidence-informed recommendations on multi-sport participation. 12,37 Load modification could also be a great addition to neuromuscular training warm-up programs for reducing acute injuries. More research evaluating load and injury relationships and their practical applications in youth basketball is needed.…”

“…Currently, there is extensive evidence to support exercise‐based programs such as neuromuscular training warm‐up programs as effective interventions for reducing all injuries 13,14 ; however, this appears to be more specific to acute injuries as more recent evidence suggests that neuromuscular training warm‐up programs may not be effective in reducing overuse injuries in pivoting youth sports 34 . Although research in the area is still limited, a potential intervention for mitigating the risk of overuse injuries in youth basketball is load management strategies, including evidence‐informed recommendations on multi‐sport participation 12,37 . Load modification could also be a great addition to neuromuscular training warm‐up programs for reducing acute injuries.…”

External and Internal Load Variables Encountered During Training and Games in Female Basketball Players According to Playing Level and Playing Position: A Systematic Review

“…Studies monitored players across different seasonal phases including the pre-season [ 54 ], the in-season [ 29 – 32 , 35 – 38 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 47 – 50 , 52 , 54 – 56 , 59 ], playoffs [ 57 ], training camps [ 39 , 42 , 45 , 46 , 53 ], and tournaments [ 33 , 34 , 60 ], with some studies not specifying the seasonal phase monitored [ 44 , 51 , 58 ]. The monitoring period durations also varied across studies with the number of weeks monitored ranging from 1 [ 50 ] to 32 [ 54 ] weeks (mean ± SD: 12 ± 9 weeks), and the number of games monitored ranging from 1 [ 57 ] to 166 [ 36 ] (mean ± SD: 19 ± 38 games). A range of different monitoring methods were used to measure external and internal load variables across studies (i.e., video-based TMA, microsensors, LPS, sRPE, HR, and BLa).…”

The Burden and Risk Factors of Patellar and Achilles Tendinopathy in Youth Basketball: A Cohort Study

“…Finally, we did not evaluate players’ workload in the present study. Workload may be a key risk or protective factor for PTP and ATP [ 35 , 36 ]. The complex system approach for pattern recognition and risk profiling of sports injury etiology may serve as an innovative next-step towards the prevention and control of PTP and ATP [ 37 , 38 , 39 ].…”