Basketball

Physiology of basketball

Basketball is a very unique sport. It requires players to continuously stop and start, change directions, jump and land. In addition, the players must do all this while at the same time dribbling, passing and shooting the ball. The court varies in length (depending on the level) from 74 to 94 feet long by 42 to 50 feet wide; these sizes mean athletes do not need to run long distances to “get in shape.” Rather, their training should focus on intervals of sprinting and resting; agility work to help with changes of direction; plyometric (or jump) training to improve the ability to grab a rebound or to get more height on a jump shot; strength training to improve tolerance to the physical contact that occurs during the game.

Common basketball injuries

Because of the repeated running, jumping and changing of direction, most injuries that occur in basketball involve the knee and ankle, regardless of gender. The upper body can be injured during basketball as well, but not as often; the hand is the most commonly injured upper body part, followed by the wrist and shoulder.

Females tend to become injured at a greater rate than males and both tend to suffer more than twice the injuries during games than practices.

Teams we’ve worked with

• College Basketball
• Creighton University
• University of Nebraska-Omaha
• Iowa Western Community College
• High School Basketball
• Every Omaha-area high school

Testimonials

I spent a summer as an intern working for Omaha Sports Physical Therapy soon after David had launched the business.  It was clear from the start that David has a terrific eye for performance driven rehab, and is able to develop creative programs to help patients and athletes get back to what they do best, and hopefully, do them better.  The PTs at OSPT obviously exude passion for the industry, and I would recommend any person who participates in any sort of competitive athletics (high school, college, or recreational) to OSPT.

-Brody Deren