Can sport specific balance training prevent acute injuries in basketball players?

In a study by Emery & colleagues, 920 basketball players from Calgary, Canada were studied in two groups.  Both groups were taught basic warm up techniques, but the second group were also taught an additional warm up component and given a home based balance training program involving the use of a wobble board.
The study found that the addition of a balance training program did have a positive effect on protecting the athlete from all types of injuries; lower limb injuries and ankle sprains, however this was not found to be statistically significant.
There was also a self-reported poor compliance to the home exercise program, with only 60% compliance.   Consideration should be made as to how compliance can be improved, however this study does suggest that coaches should consider such as preventative training strategy for their players in order to reduce injuries.


(2007)  A Preventative Strategy To Reduce the Incidence Of Injury in High School Basketball: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 17 (1): 17-24