High Return to Play Rate and Reduced Career Longevity Following Surgical Management of Athletic Pubalgia in National Basketball Association Players

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the effects of surgical treatment of athletic pubalgia (AP) on game use and performance metrics in National Basketball Association (NBA) players. Methods: A retrospective review of all NBA players who underwent surgical management for AP from 1996 to 2018 was performed. A matched control group was created for comparison. The index period was defined as the entire NBA season in which surgery occurred, including the corresponding offseason. Player demographics, use (games played, games started, and minutes per game) and performance (player efficiency rating) metrics were collected for all players. Statistical analysis was performed to compare data before and after return to play. Results: Thirty players with a history of surgical management for AP were included in the final analysis. Following surgery for AP, NBA players were found to have a return to play (RTP) rate of 90.91% (30/33). The average RTP following surgery was 4.73 AE 2.62 months. Compared with control athletes, athletes in the AP group played significantly fewer seasons postinjury (4.17 AE 2.70 vs 5.49 AE 3.04 seasons, respectively; P ¼ .02). During the first year following RTP, NBA players experienced significant reductions in game use and performance, both when compared with the year prior and matched control athletes (P < .05). At 3-year follow-up, players continued to demonstrate significant reductions in game use (minutes per game, P < .05) but not performance. Conclusions: Following surgical treatment of AP, NBA players demonstrated a high RTP rate, but shortened career. A short-term reduction in game use and performance metrics was found the year of return following surgery. However, 3-year follow-up performance metrics normalized when compared with healthy controls. Study Design: Level III; retrospective case-control study.

Return To Play Rate and Performance Following Surgical Repair of Athletic Pubalgia in Major League Soccer Players: A Retrospective Case-Control Study

“…Although surgery should most often be considered once conservative treatment has failed, our study adds to the current literature potentially supporting earlier surgical intervention as a viable option in high-level athletes who rely upon their sport as their primary source of income [ 2 , 6 , 7 , 11 , 15 , 16 ]. The results of this study identified a high RTP rate among MLS players (96.5%) who underwent isolated surgical repair of AP.…”

“…Due to the public nature of the data, IRB approval was not needed. Similar to previous studies evaluating RTP statistics in professional athletics, available injury reports, team news articles, individual player timelines, and game statistics were accessed through affiliated team websites (mlssoccer.com and transfermarkt.us) [11][12][13]. Two separate injury reports or articles were considered sufficient for player inclusion in preliminary data collection.…”

Risk Factors for Athletic Pubalgia in Collegiate Football Student-Athletes: A Retrospective Cohort Study

“…1,13,19,22,23,36,37,40 Although AP surgery is associated with a high return-to-play rate, those who undergo AP surgery are more likely to have a shortened playing career. 4 By identifying risk factors for the development of AP, athletic programs may consider tailoring these modifiable factors to possibly mitigate injury. Recognition and a better understanding of this injury may increase the opportunity for athletes to enjoy healthy, successful careers.…”

Recognition and Analysis of Sports on Mental Health Based on Deep Learning

“…Corresponding to the transmission control process set in Figure 4 , the sawtooth numerical model was called to fix the multi-level difference generated in the control process ( Castle et al, 2021 ). In the set of multi-level transmission mechanism, corresponding to the protocol followed by the multi-level transmission process ( Beynnon et al, 2020 ; Seow et al, 2020 ), the information fusion processing of sports on mental health status recognition is realized according to the index parameters such as maximum oxygen uptake VO2max and heart rate HR, as shown in Figure 5 .…”