Protecting Your Legs in Basketball

Protecting the Upper Leg in Basketball

Basketball presents players with a large variety of risks when training and playing, and for the last few weeks we have been wrestling with how to deal with the most common and serious risks. The most common injury we have not discussed so far in the upper leg, made up mainly of two muscles: the hamstring and the quadricep which are considered to be the largest muscle outside of the gluteus maximus. This week, we are going to focus on protecting your quadricep from harm and preventing damage to your hamstring in basketball.

The Back of the Leg – the Hamstring

The hamstring is frequently damaged and can occur in different severities usually in training or games where the player has failed to warm up properly. It can also be the result of overuse and exhaustion. Your on-site physical therapist should be able to identify your damage as one of the following:

Grade 1 – this tends to be a mild muscle pull or strain and will tend to mend itself within a few days.

Grade 2 – this tends to be a more serious but partial muscle tear and will take weeks and even months to fully rehab and heal

Grade 3 – this is a complete muscle tear and will take serious rehab and care to mend, usually lasting months.

Of course, the time it takes to mend will be based on your overall health, severity of damage, and quality of care. As this muscle is so important in day-to-day activities, having a damaged hamstring can impede every facet of your life – and for the most part you can forget about basketball outside the confines of watching the NBA until it is healed.

The Front of the Leg – the Quadricep

It is not uncommon for basketball players to engage in hard contact and collisions when playing regardless of whether they’re at the downtown court or on the T.V. This is why basketball is a breeding ground for quadricep damage –usually sustained as a result of trauma to the front of the upper-leg. This is called a quadricep contusion.

Initially the blow is uncomfortable but many players experience swelling and increase in pain over time. If a player sustains a blow of this nature it is imperative they follow the RICE procedure and begin treatment immediately to avoid a minor injury turning into long term muscle strength and flexibility issues.

Although the damage to the quadricep and hamstring vary in both genesis and severity, if you have suffered from one of these issues it is imperative you contact a physical therapist to help you on your way back to proficiency. If you would like to contact one of Mount Sinai’s dedicated teams, please contact our switchboard at (212) 241-6321

How to Treat A Jammed Finger

You’re slipping through the defence, dribbling the ball between both your own and the opponents’ legs when a hand comes out of no where and slaps the ball right into your index finger. The pain strikes immediately, you look down – your finger looks fine but there’s an agonising pain running through your hand. Soon after it swells. You stop and realise – you have now succumbed to, undeniably, the most frustrating injury in basketball, sport, or possibly history: the jammed finger.

What’ so annoying is that it seems like such an insignificant injury – but you’ve been chastised from the game of your life by a rebounded ball or a poorly timed catch; and that’s no champion ending. A jammed finger is the worst type of injury. On the other hand, what’s great is, a jammed finger doesn’t have to be the end. Treat it properly, and you’ll be back on the field in no time.

The jammed finger is archetypically swollen, hard to bend, and somewhat painful. As with most minor sporting injuries, RICE treatment is your first port-of-call; that’s of course assuming you don’t have a physiotherapist or orthopaedist to hand. The injury is usually located in the knuckle, where the blunt of the trauma is experienced. The most common form of injury sustained in this field is a volar plate injury.

When the ball hits the finger head on, collateral finger ligament can rear at the attachment at the volar plate (which is a thick ligament on the palm side of the joint) and the middle phalanx. A piece of bone is torn away by a tendon or ligament, which provokes the symptoms aforementioned. Any injury that causes hyperextension of a ligament can end in a tear of the volar plate.

It is important to evaluate the jammed finger quickly as the avulsion fracture may indicate major ligament damage, which if left alone will develop into long-term pain and stiffness. When an accident in the realm of description above occurs, the most important thing to do is check what has happened. If your finger looks crooked, dislocated, or is unbearably painful the chances are you have broken your finger or something more serious. If this has happened, you should contact your physician immediately to avoid any irreparable trauma.

If you suffered from a jammed finger, or if you suspect your finger has sustained more serious damage and would like to speak to one of our physicians, please contact our switchboard at (212) 241-6321

Protecting Yourself From Wrist Injury

Hand and wrist injuries are particularly common in basketball because of the nature of the game. Every aspect of the sport from shooting, dribbling, catching, passing, and rebounding puts the area in question at risk. If the damage to the wrist is significant it could lead a player to missing the entire season with their injury, and the problem can persist if the cause and symptoms are not managed correctly.

The most common accident in basketball is falling and landing. The extreme and sudden trauma to the area can cause bone to come out of location – especially if one lands in an awkward position. Falls can be made worse by an already weak wrist, which tends to come from repetitive motions which are found in dribbling. It can add to a surmounting issue of overuse of the wrist and cause severe damage. The weakening stress on the wrist can also come from outside of basketball, for example - people who have recently come off crutches or require strong wrist motion for work.

If you are suffering from a past injury, such as a bone fracture that did not heal properly – then the past strain or sprain may weaken the wrist, making future damage more severe and easier to come by. There are some also people who are born with weak ligaments which further increases the chance of damage and recovery period.

The two most common types of injury that come from these elements, as we briefly alluded to, are sprains and strains. Your hand and arm and held together by ligaments and tendons, which act like an elasticated tissue that holds bone together.  A sprain occurs when a ligament is stretched or torn and a strain when a tendon muscle is overused or weak.

There are some very easy symptoms you should look out for if you think you have damaged your hand in basketball. Ask yourself these questions:

·       Was there notable pain when you injured it?

·       Has there been pain, weakness or numbness in your wrist or hand since?

·       Do you have a feeling of something clicking popping inside your wrist?

·       Has the shape of your had changed?

·       Do you have trouble moving your wrist or hand?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above it is highly likely you have damaged your wrist, please contact our switchboard at (212) 241-6321 if you would like to talk to a physician.

How to Protect Your Achilles Heel in Basketball

It has always been very apparent to humankind that the Achilles heel is a serious physiological blind spot – so much so that the Greeks decided to centre a myth around this all-too-human-inadequacy. Our anatomic weakness becomes very apparent in games like basketball which require frequent sliding, stop-starting, and sudden twists. That’s why it is not surprising that every year the emergency department, doctors’ offices, and local clinics treat 355’130 basketball ankle related injuries. Whether you’re defending, blitzing, or chasing a rebound – your Achilles is always at risk of letting you down, and potentially ruining your career for the foreseeable future. This week, we want to show you some top tips to prevent this from happening.

Maintaining a healthy weight during the off-season will allow you to jump back into basketball seamlessly. You won’t have to blow off any cobwebs upon restarting your season, your coordination will still be spot on, and if you do make a mistake then you will not be punished by carrying excess weight. The Achilles is extremely weak, and one slip up could mean the end of the line for you this season.

You can also avoid damaging your Achilles by preparing yourself before a game with stretches, running, jumping jacks, cycling and long-term flexibility training. Always warm up and stretch before you play – especially in colder months if playing outdoors to avoid stiffening up.

You can significantly reduce the risk of damaging your Achilles tendon by ensuring you have appropriate equipment. Generally, the most important piece of equipment are your shoes as a good pair can save you a trip to the hospital whereas an inappropriate pair could land you in all sorts of trouble. Basketball shoes that fit, have no skid soles, and offer support to your ankles reduce the odds of you damaging your ankle.

You can further increase the odds to your Achilles surviving a rough game by using ankle braces or tape to stabilize the region.

Finally, ensure your technique is correct and your understanding of the intricacies of the game is finessed when playing. Technique improves your coordination and self-control meaning you will be less of a danger to yourself. Imagine landing a 3 pointer then twisting your ankle when landing. And understanding the game means you play your assigned position and therefore control the area around you. Listen to your coach’s advice and learn the game. Understanding your role better allows you to better avoid collision and injury from illegal or unexpected contact.

If you have recently damaged your Achilles tendon and would like to speak to one of our physicians about it, please contact our switchboard at (212) 241-6321