Hamstring Injury Epidemiology in the National Basketball Association Over a Five-Year Period

Abstract

SUMMARY Purpose. Professional basketball players are subject to lower extremity injuries given the physical nature of the game, which can impact career longevity. To report the epidemiology of hamstring injuries in National Basketball Association (NBA) players from 2016-2021 and to assess their effect on performance. Methods. Online injury databases were searched to identify hamstring injuries occur-ring from 2016-2021 in the NBA. The primary information collected included injury location, age at injury, games missed, and performance statistics before and after the injury. Comparison of pre and post injury performance was stratified by secondary injuries and duration of games missed. Results. 210 hamstring injuries occurred in the NBA from 2016-2021. The most common injuries were strained left hamstrings (45/210, 21.4%) and right hamstrings (45/210, 21.4%). The mean age at the time of injury was 28.0 ± 4.1 years old. Subsequent injuries occurred in 171 players in the same and/or following season (171/210, 81.4%) The most common non-hamstring subsequent injuries affected the knee (84/575, 14.61%) and the ankle (63/575, 10.96%). There was a weak negative correlation between games missed and age (r =-0.03). Players had statistically significant decreases in minutes played and field goal percentage following return from injury (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Hamstring injuries are common in the NBA, and lead to a small but important decline in player performance. There is a high rate of reinjury of the hamstring and other areas of the body. Further study of hamstring injuries in the NBA is warranted to better understand readiness to return to play.