The Application of Recovery Strategies in Basketball: A Worldwide Survey

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived usefulness, actual use and barriers to the implementation of recovery strategies among basketball practitioners. 107 participants (strength and conditioning coaches, sport scientists, performance specialists) from different countries and competitive levels completed an online survey. Most participants rated recovery strategies as either extremely (46%) or very important (49%). Active recovery, massage, foam rolling, and stretching were perceived as most useful (80, 73, 72 and 59% of participants, respectively) and were most frequently adopted (68, 61, 72 and 67%, respectively). Participants mentioned lack of devices and facilities (51%), excessive cost (51%), lack of time (27%), players’ negative perception (25%) and lack of sufficient evidence (16%) as barriers to the implementation of recovery strategies. The present findings reveal that some dissociation between scientific evidence and perceived effectiveness was present among the study participants. A possible solution would be to ensure that scientific evidence-based guidelines are followed when considering the application of recovery strategies. Regarding actual use, participants favored easily implementable strategies (e.g. active recovery, stretching), rather than evidence-supported, but expensive and/or impractical strategies (e.g. whole-body cryotherapy). Possible solutions may include the use of practical tools that don’t need specific facilities, the development and validation of new low-cost recovery devices, the promotion of players education regarding recovery strategies, and conducting further research to increase the scientific knowledge in the area.

Perceptions and use of recovery strategies in water polo players and coaches: a worldwide survey

“…The participants' primary reasons for using recovery strategies were mainly to minimize the risk of injuries and enhance performance capabilities in subsequent training sessions or competitions. These results align with early previous research in basketball (Pernigoni et al, 2022), where participants provided similar answers. In our study WP players exhibited infrequent utilization of recovery strategies, with rare occurrences being the most prevalent.…”

“…A total of 307 WP players (n=231; male: n=112, female: n= 119) and technical staff members (strength and conditioning coach, , n=36; sport scientist, n=4; data scientist, n=1; other, n=5; total, n=76), representing all continents worldwide (Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania) and all levels of competition, completed a freely accessible online questionnaire, related to the perception of the importance and actual use of different recovery strategies. The sample size was adequate compared to previous similar studies (Altarriba-Bartes et al, 2021;Calleja-González et al, 2021;Field et al, 2021;Pernigoni et al, 2022). All participants were adequately informed, participated voluntarily and anonymously.…”

Support Your Recovery Needs (SYRN) – a systemic approach to improve sport performance

“…When it comes to actual use, athletes prefer to use recovery methods that are easy to implement (e.g., active recovery, stretching, foam rolling, rehydration) rather than evidence-based but expensive and/or impractical strategies (e.g., full-body cryotherapy, sauna) that require significant money, time or special infrastructure [65]. In addition to ease of use, a strong determinant of method selection is the athlete's belief in its effectiveness, which does not always align with scientific evidence [31].…”

A Survey of Evolving Performance Analysis Technologies, Algorithms and Models for Sports

“…The study in [26] did a survey on recovery strategies among basketball practitioners. The majority agreed that recovery strategies are very vital in their routine.…”