Attention to ankles, hips, can benefit game, reduce injuries
As players prepare themselves for the demands of basketball, it is typical to see them go through a few standard stretches on the court while shooting around with their teammates. But to truly get ready for the intensity of the game, it is encouraged that players go through a series of activities and movements that will properly "warm up" the body. By doing so, players will benefit in their level of play as well as reduce their likelihood of injuries.
First, increase the core temperature of the body through some low-intensity cardiovascular activity for about 3-5 minutes. Jogging laps around the court is a simple way of accomplishing this task. Second, increase the lubrication within the joints of the body. This can be done by dynamically flexing, extending, and rotating the joints in a slow and deliberate manner. These two simple recommendations involve mobility of the joints more so than flexibility of the muscles, and prepare the limbs of the body to safely move through greater ranges of motion.
Two often overlooked areas of the body that are particularly vulnerable to direct injuries, along with leading to injuries in other areas of the body, are the ankles and the hips. A stiff, immobile ankle causes the stress from landing (sprinting, jumping, rapidly changing directions) to be transferred to the knees. Tight, unstable and immobile hips cause many undesirable compensatory actions to take place within the lower body that can lead to back pain and/or knee pain. So, in preparation for basketball practices and games, jog for about 3-5 minutes and then perform the following exercises:
- Multi-planar Ankle Press (MAP). Perform 10 presses through a full range of motion in each of three directions for each foot -- 10 presses forward/backward (middle toe emphasis), 10 presses forward/backward (small toe emphasis), and 10 presses forward/backward (big toe emphasis).
- Leg Swings. Perform 10 pendulum-like leg swings through a full range of motion in each of two directions for each leg -- 10 swings forward/backward (chest level forward to butt level backward) and 10 swings side to side (waist level outside to knee level across the inside).
- Multi-directional Lunges. Perform five lunges in each of three directions for each leg -- five forward lunges (both feet directly forward) to develop sagittal plane mobility, five side lunges (both feet directly forward) to develop frontal plane mobility, and five rotational lunges (feet are perpendicular, lead foot and hip turned 90-degrees to the back foot and hip) to develop frontal/transverse mobility. It is important to emphasize that a key to the effectiveness of these various lunge movements is exact foot positioning.
So, in addition to consistently preparing the body for the physical demands of the game of basketball through strength training and conditioning, players should also prepare with proper warm-up, flexibility, mobility and basketball-specific movements.
Jeff Watkinson is director of Strength and Conditioning for Indiana University Men's Basketball. Read more about Men's Basketball on the IU Athletics site.
