title: Incidence of lateral meniscus injury in professional basketball players.
abstract: We reviewed National Basketball Trainers Association data over a 6-year period to determine the incidence of lateral meniscus injury among professional basketball players. Our results indicated that 58% of all injuries involved the lateral meniscus, while 42% involved the medial meniscus. This differs from what other authors have reported for basketball players. The lateral meniscus may be vulnerable to chronic injury and subject to microtrauma from repetitive submaximal stresses associated with cutting or changing direction while running, or from pivoting. A professional player is at more risk of injury during a game than practice, and thus is exposed to injury more than a collegian because the professional season has three to four times as many games. Also, magnetic resonance imaging may aid the physician in accurately diagnosing some tears that would otherwise have gone undetected or required arthroscopy for diagnosis. In addition, injury to the lateral meniscus could produce secondary symptoms such as instability or patellofemoral pain to structures other than the lateral meniscus.
authors.affiliation: Associated Orthopedic Surgeons of Hayward, Castro Valley, California.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Krinsky
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Abdenour
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Starkey
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Albo
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Chu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001490:Basketball / Q000293:injuries*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D000070600:Tibial Meniscus Injuries; D014481:United States