Search

Purpose: To establish the relationship between the acute:chronic workload ratio and lower-extremity overuse injuries in professional basketball players over the course of a competitive season. Methods: The acute:chronic workload ratio was determined by calculating the sum of the current week's session rating of perceived exertion of training load (acute load) and dividing it by the average weekly training load over the previous 4 wk (chronic load). All injuries were recorded weekly using a self-report injury questionnaire (Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Injury Questionnaire20). Workload ratios were modeled against injury data using a logistic-regression model with unique intercepts for each player. Results: Substantially fewer team members were injured after workload ratios of 1 to 1.49 (36%) than with very low (≤0.5; 54%), low (0.5-0.99; 51%), or high (≥1.5; 59%) workload ratios. The regression model provided unique workload-injury trends for each player, but all mean differences in likelihood of being injured between workload ratios were unclear. Conclusions: Maintaining workload ratios of 1 to 1.5 may be optimal for athlete preparation in professional basketball. An individualized approach to modeling and monitoring the training load-injury relationship, along with a symptom-based injury-surveillance method, should help coaches and performance staff with individualized training-load planning and prescription and with developing athlete-specific recovery and rehabilitation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lower limb injuries are common in sport and have a mechanical aetiology, either via acute or chronic loading to musculoskeletal tissue. Cumulative loading influences the onset and severity of injuries such as fatigue fracture or tendinopathy but is difficult to measure in the field. A field-based, simple method to quantify and monitor mechanical loads using wearable sensors may be the first step in the prevention and management of lower limb musculoskeletal injury. Furthermore, the application of a load metric based on concepts of musculoskeletal mechanobiology should be integrated within the load measurement system to account for tissue adaptation. Musculoskeletal tissue is influenced by mechanical loads, such that the loads can either be positive, leading to enhanced structural integrity; or harmful, resulting in injuries or disease. The purpose of this paper is to review the influence of cumulative lower limb mechanical load on musculoskeletal tissue homeostasis and injury risk and examine appropriate methods to quantify cumulative lower limb load in the field. Using the data in this way, coaches may be able to decrease musculoskeletal tissue load based on changes in training and mechanics more effectively than with counts of tasks, speed, or distance alone. Additionally, regular monitoring using the proposed methods may be useful in evaluating limb symmetry and fatiguerelated changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]