Prevention of Patellar and Achilles Tendinopathies in Youth Basketball

NCT ID: NCT04363398

Last Updated: 2020-04-27

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 441 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2016-08-10
• Study Completion Date: 2019-07-31

Brief Summary

This study seeks to determine the prevalence of knee and ankle tendinopathies in youth basketball players, as well as determine the efficacy of a Basketball specific Neuromuscular training warm-up in reducing injuries.

Detailed Description

1. BACKGROUND & RATIONALE Basketball is one of the most popular youth sports in the United States and Canada. Knee and ankle injuries are the most common injuries in youth basketball (40%). Patellar and Achilles tendinopathies (PATs) are of particular concern in elite level basketball with a prevalence of 32% for patellar tendinopathy in elite male athletes (60% career prevalence). The risk for injury may be initiated in youth basketball where overuse injury incidence increases with age. Previously reported PAT injury rates likely underestimate the burden of overuse injury in youth basketball as current surveillance guidelines are optimized for acute injury and there are no guidelines on appropriate tendinopathy diagnosis in youth athletes. Current knowledge on basketball-related injuries (acute and overuse) in adolescent athletic community is sparse. Jump loads, landing mechanics, joint morphology and tendon structure changes may be predictive of tendinopathy. However, their consequences on PAT risk in basketball remain to be investigated using prospective cohort study methodologies. Encouragingly, the potential for mediating injury risk in youth sport through neuromuscular training programs has been demonstrated. A basketball specific neuromuscular training program (BSpecNMT) in turn may be efficacious for primary PAT prevention. Clearly, there is an urgent need to advance the current state of injury surveillance, prevention programs, sport-specific risk factors for PATs and structural consequences of PATs in youth basketball.

2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Primary Objectives 1) To quantify the prevalence and severity of patellar and Achilles tendinopathies and assess associated risk factors in youth basketball (Year 1); and 2) To evaluate the efficacy of a BSpecNMT program in reducing patellar and Achilles tendinopathies and all injuries in youth basketball players (Year 2 and 3).

3. METHODS A Hybrid (effectiveness-implementation) Type 2 RCT design will be conducted. Teams will be randomized into either a comprehensive or standard intervention delivery group. All coaches will attend one pre-season coach workshop for the basketball specific neuromuscular (BSpecNMT) warm-up program. The workshop was led by a physiotherapist, athletic trainer, or strength and conditioning coach before the start of the season. During the pre-season coach workshop, coaches will take part in a theoretical and practical session about basketball injury prevention and warm-up exercises. Coaches in the both study groups will be instructed to carry out the 10-minute warm-up program at the beginning of all training sessions.

In addition, the comprehensive intervention group will receive weekly visits at team practices from a research physiotherapist, athletic trainer, or strength and conditioning coach. These visits will provide the team guidance with the BSpecNMT warm-up to facilitate proper technique and appropriate progression of the BSpecNMT warm-up exercises.

All teams will have their adherence to the BSpecNMT recorded on a weekly basis by a Team Designate. In addition, injuries will be prospectively monitored through a weekly self-report questionnaire, a post-season questionnaire (completed by players) and injury report form (completed by team designates). Also, Coaches' knowledge and attitudes to injury prevention will be registered by surveys during the pre-season, post-workshop, post-season, 6-month post-season, and 12-month post-season timepoints.

Conditions

Injury, Knee; Injury, Ankle; Tendinopathy; Sports Injuries in Children

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

Comprehensive

Coaches from schools randomized to the comprehensive follow-up receive a workshop outlining a neuromuscular training program to be used as a warm-up for 10 minutes at the beginning of each basketball practice and game. Throughout the season, a trained research team member will monitor the team weekly for injuries, participation, and adherence, and provide support to the school coaches regarding the warm-up.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Comprehensive Follow-up

Intervention Type: OTHER

Trained research staff members will provide weekly support to coaches on the NMT warm-up.

Standard

Coaches from schools randomized to the standard follow-up receive a workshop outlining a neuromuscular training program to be used as a warm-up for 10 minutes at the beginning of each basketball practice and game. Throughout the season, a research team member will monitor the team weekly for injuries, participation, and adherence, however will not provide support to the school coaches regarding the warm-up.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Standard Follow-up

Intervention Type: OTHER

Research staff will monitor teams weekly, however no additional support for warm-up will be provided.

Interventions

Comprehensive Follow-up

Trained research staff members will provide weekly support to coaches on the NMT warm-up.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Standard Follow-up

Research staff will monitor teams weekly, however no additional support for warm-up will be provided.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Plays competitive basketball with School or club

Exclusion Criteria

• Injured at baseline

• Minimum Eligible Age: 11 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

General Electric

INDUSTRY

Sponsor Role: collaborator

National Basketball Association

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Carolyn Emery

Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Carolyn Emery, PT, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, University of Calgary

Locations

Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Countries

Canada

Other Identifiers

REB16-0864

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id