RehabMove 2018: A SURVEY OF FALLS DURING WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL FROM THE OFFICIAL VIDEO OBSERVATION

PURPOSE: Wheelchair basketball is played by athletes with dysfunction of the lower limbs and/or trunk. Falls frequently cause various sports injuries including bruises, concussions, and fractures. However, no survey has explored falls in wheelchair basketball. This study aimed to clarify the situation of falls in wheelchair basketball using official videos and, thereby, help prevent sports injuries.

METHODS: A total of 20 game videos of the top eight teams of men and women competing in wheelchair basketball at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games 2016 were obtained from among the official videos of the International Paralympic Committee. The situation of falls was surveyed in the official videos. The number of falls, time of fall, body part that contacted the floor first, and direction of the fall were recorded. A fall was defined as when the body came in contact with the ground.

RESULTS: With 263 falls in total, the frequency was 13.2 falls per game. In the first and second halves of the game, 109 and 151 falls occurred, respectively, and 3 falls occurred during overtime. The hand was the most frequent body part to first touch the ground in 221 falls. The directions of falls ranked in descending order were as follows: 145 forward, 53 backward, 29 right, 14 left, 7 right front, 4 left front, and 11 unknown.

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: In wheelchair basketball, falls occurred mostly in the latter half with the hand contacting the ground first in most cases. The direction of the fall was more often forward and backward than to the right and left. Wheelchair basketball uses sports wheelchairs that use the rear-wheel camber. Moreover, wheelchair basketball players tend to tilt their wheelchair on one side when shooting and rebounding. These results and characteristics led to various sports injuries. However, what kind of injuries will occur in this survey is unknown. Future research is needed to investigate injuries due to falls.