Concussion Is Associated With Increased Odds of Acute Lower-Extremity Musculoskeletal Injury Among National Basketball Association Players

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the odds of sustaining an acute lower-extremity (LE) musculoskeletal injury during the 90-day period after return-to-play (RTP) from concussion in National Basketball Association (NBA) athletes. Methods: Concussion data for NBA players were collected from the 1999-2000 to 2017-2018 seasons, from publicly available sources. Age, position, injury, time to RTP, and demographic factors were collected. The 90-day period after each case of concussion was reviewed for acute noncontact LE musculoskeletal injury. Control athletes without a documented history of concussion were matched to concussed athletes by age, body mass index, position, and experience. Conditional logistic regression with a calculated odds ratio and a 95% confidence interval were used to assess the association between concussion and subsequent risk of LE injury. Results: In total, 189 concussions were documented in 153 athletes. Of these, 140 cases were the first recorded instance of concussion in players with publicly available data. Thirty-six (25.7%) athletes sustained a LE injury within 90 days of concussion; 26 (20.2%) were non–season-ending and included in RTP analysis. The odds of sustaining an acute LE musculoskeletal injury within the 90-day period after concussion was 4.69 times greater in concussed players compared with controls (95% confidence interval 1.96-11.23, P