Digging Deep into the Etiology of Basketball Injuries: A Complex Systems Approach for Risk Mitigation

Abstract

Mitigating the risk of injury in basketball is essential for continued player participation, performance, team success, and future health. Considering the multidimensionality of the etiology of sports injuries, a complex systems approach is crucial to unravel their emergence. While screening may not be an optimal “first layer” prediction tool for injury prevention in team sports (all athletes deserve preventive intervention), it may be a valuable “second layer” monitoring tool for effective risk management in individual players, using a complex predictive model. This review describes the characteristics of a complex system and provides a rationale for its application in basketball injury etiology and prevention. Next, a review of current theories for sports injury etiology and injury prevention is presented and a novel Complex Model for the Etiology of Basketball Injury is proposed. Finally, potential applications of the proposed model in basketball injury prevention research and practice are discussed, including its potential application as a risk stratification tool for an additional layer of injury risk mitigation in individual players.