Injury epidemiology and surveillance in basketball: a systematic review of reporting methods and meta-analysis of injury rates

Barden, Craig ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5504-2548, McMaster, Charlotte, Neill, Matthew, Wing, Kirsten ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1913-9937, Aherne, Kathy and De Ste Croix, Mark B ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9911-4355 (2026) Injury epidemiology and surveillance in basketball: a systematic review of reporting methods and meta-analysis of injury rates. Journal of Injury & Illness Prevention in Sport. doi:10.64255/zs9twt35 (In Press)

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Abstract

Basketball is one of the most widely played sports worldwide, with injuries ranging from contact-related concussions to overuse tendinopathies. However, considerable methodological variation exists across injury surveillance studies, limiting the ability to directly compare findings between studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to (1) describe the reporting methods used in basketball injury surveillance research and (2) examine injury incidence rates (IIR) across different playing levels, age groups, and sexes using a range of injury definitions and exposure denominators. METHODS Five electronic databases were searched for studies reporting basketball injury rates (PROSPERO registration: CRD42023487335). Inclusion criteria included peer-reviewed articles, written in English, describing injury rates in 5v5 training/games. Data pertaining to study demographics, reporting methods, risk of bias (modified Downs and Black checklist) and injury data were extracted. Reporting methods data was assessed descriptively. A meta-analysis was performed on pooled IIR of training and games using medical-attention (MA) and time-loss (TL) injury definitions, combined with exposure per 1000 player-hours (/1000h) or 1000 athlete-exposure (/1000AE). RESULTS A total of 3,177 studies were identified, with 119 unique articles included in the review. Ten distinct injury definitions were found, with TL (55%) and MA (19%) the most common. Nine different exposure denominators were found, the most common being athlete-exposure (70%). From the meta-analysis, match IIR exceeded training incidence for all injury definitions and exposure types. A pooled TL match IIR of 6.8/1000AE (95% CI 5.0-9.5) and 24.3/1000h (95% CI 16.8-35.2) were reported, notably greater than training IIR (1.9/1000AE, 95% CI 1.4-2.4 and 2.3/1000h, 95% CI 1.4-3.9, respectively). CONCLUSION This is the first review to describe the wide range of surveillance methods adopted in basketball surveillance studies. This meta-analysis provides the most comprehensive synthesis of basketball literature, reporting pooled IIR across various contexts and settings using various exposure types and injury definitions.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	basketball, injury, methodology, epidemiology, surveillance, sport
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV557 Sports G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV557 Sports > GV861 Ball games: Baseball, football, golf, etc. Q Science > QP Physiology > QP301.H75 Physiology. Sport
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education, Health and Sciences
Depositing User:	Charlotte Crutchlow
Date Deposited:	27 Jul 2026 11:31
Last Modified:	27 Jul 2026 11:45
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/16443

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