Global prevalence and pattern of injuries in basketball players: a systematic review.

Introduction: Basketball, as a widely popular sport, can be associated with a high risk of injury. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of basketball-related injuries in various groups through the utilization of a systematic review methodology.

Evidence Acquisition: An extensive search was conducted in the four valid databases using three groups of keywords up to November 2023 based on the PRISMA guidance. Two reviewers independently performed the steps of the study, including study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. In case of any disagreements, the opinion of a third researcher was sought to achieve agreement in each step. The agreement between the reviewers was examined by computing Cohen's kappa coefficient. The quality assessment of the articles in this study was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools.

Evidence Synthesis: The prevalence range of injuries in these people was between 0.38% and 92.0%. Ankle injuries in 12 out of 28 studies (42.86%), knee injuries in 7 out of 28 studies (25.00%), head and tooth injuries in 3 out of 28 studies (10.71%), and shoulder and hand injuries in three out of 28 studies (10.71%) had the highest prevalence among various injuries. Five out of six studies (83.33%) showed a higher percentage of the injuries in males. Only a study compared the prevalence of injuries between people with various ages.

Conclusions: These findings emphasize the need for injury prevention and management strategies, particularly targeting vulnerable areas like the ankle and knee.