title: The FIFA 11+ program is effective in preventing injuries in elite male basketball players: a cluster randomized controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recently, structured training programs for sports injury prevention ("The 11" and "The 11+") have been validated in soccer. The FIFA 11+ program has not been evaluated in basketball.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The FIFA 11+ program is effective in reducing the rates of injury in male basketball players.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors randomized 11 teams of the same club. Seven teams were allocated to the intervention group (80 players; mean [SD] age 13.5 [2.3] years), and 4 teams were allocated to the control group (41 players; mean [SD] age 15.2 [4.6] years). The authors conducted an injury surveillance program during a 9-month season. The primary outcome was any injury to the athletes. The secondary outcome was any injury to the lower extremity (foot, ankle, lower leg, knee, thigh, groin, and hip). They included an analysis of the type of exposure (match or training), injury location in the body, and type of injury (acute or overuse).
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the 9-month season, 23 (19%) of the 121 players included in the study sustained a total of 31 injuries (14 in the intervention group and 17 in the control group). In the intervention group, injury rates per 1000 athlete-exposures were lower than those in the control group, with statistical significance, for overall injuries (0.95 vs 2.16; P = .0004), training injuries (0.14 vs 0.76; P = .007), lower extremity injuries (0.68 vs 1.4; P = .022), acute injuries (0.61 vs 1.91; P < .0001), and severe injuries (0 vs 0.51; P = .004). The intervention group also had statistically significant lower injury rates for trunk (0.07 vs 0.51; P = .013), leg (0 vs 0.38; P = .007), and hip and groin (0 vs 0.25; P = .023) compared with the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in match injuries, knee injuries, ankle injuries, and overuse injuries between 2 groups. The most frequent acute injury diagnoses were ligament sprains (0.41 and 0.38 in the intervention and control groups, respectively; P < .006) and contractures (0.76 and 0.07 in the control and intervention groups, respectively; P < .003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The FIFA 11+ warm-up program is effective in reducing the rates of injuries in elite male basketball players.
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, UniversityCampus Bio-Medico of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Umile Giuseppe
authors.initials: UG
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: Mattia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loppini
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berton
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marinozzi
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maffulli
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Denaro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001490:Basketball / Q000293:injuries*; D002648:Child; D012090:Cumulative Trauma Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015444:Exercise; D025981:Hip Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007869:Leg Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011159:Population Surveillance; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult