A Descriptive Study of Self‐Reported Injury in Non‐elite Adaptive Athletes

Abstract

III.

Health‐Related Incidents among Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Players

“…In our study, the majority of wrist injuries involved tendon disorders or joint sprains with an equal breakdown of sudden‐onset and gradual‐onset of symptoms, whereas the majority of shoulder injuries were described as muscle cramps or spasms with gradual onset. These injury patterns remain generally consistent with findings of prior studies, although the high rate of wrist injuries in our study is somewhat surprising compared to other studies that predominantly noted shoulder injuries 38‐42 . The biomechanics of wheelchair basketball is such that repetitive overhead motions and wheelchair propulsion contribute to upper extremity tendon, ligament, bursa, and muscle pathology, especially rotator cuff disease.…”

“…When athletes did report their injuries, a majority sought care from the team's certified athletic trainer, followed by an outside athletic trainer or physician. These findings contrast existing literature that suggests that wheelchair athletes tend to seek care predominately from physicians 39,42 . This may be due to limited access to their regular physicians if they are attending college outside of their hometown or while they are traveling out of town for competition.…”

“…These data points are consistent with prior studies, which have suggested that a high rate of athlete underreporting exists among the adaptive sports population. Reasons for underreporting include tendency for athletes to mask symptoms so they will not be held from competition, minimization of the injury, not knowing whom to consult, lack of knowledge about signs and symptoms of serious injury, or poor past experiences with medical providers, who may not be familiar with treating athletes with disabilities 23,42,44 . When athletes did report their injuries, a majority sought care from the team's certified athletic trainer, followed by an outside athletic trainer or physician.…”

Shoulder Injuries in Wheelchair Basketball Players: A Systematic Review

“…Shoulder injuries were reported by 18 patients out of 157 cases. (Hollander et al,2019;And Hoo et al, 2019). Among them, in the studies of Hollander et al Shoulder injury were reported by 9 women and 5 men.…”

“…In addition, in both studies, other upper limb injuries were recorded, such as shoulder (2 cases), elbow (13 cases), wrist (14 cases), hands (2 cases), fingers (6 cases) and hands and/or fingers 10 cases (Hollander et al, 2019). Hoo et al pointed out that four cases of shoulder injuries were generally associated with damage to the rotator cuff structures (Hoo et al, 2019). Using the WUSPI scale, pain was assessed in 126 patients, including 67 women and 59 men.…”