In a collaboration between the University of Gloucestershire and Basketball England, researchers from the university's School of Natural, Social and Sports Sciences are studying players and their coaches to build up a picture of injuries sustained across English basketball, in the first research of its kind in the country.
Basketball is the second-most played team sport in England, behind only football, with more than 230,000 people aged 16 and over playing the sport at least twice a month.
Despite its popularity, little is known or documented about the types of injuries that occur in basketball games and training sessions, with evidence suggesting that the risk of injury is as high as that of a rugby match.
This new study hopes to understand the injuries commonly sustained, including gauging how well players and coaches understand the nature of their injuries and methods of prevention.
Dr Craig Barden, lecturer in sports therapy at the university, said: 'Limited finances mean there has been little funding available to research basketball injuries, so it is a very under-studied sport.
'While most injuries are believed to be to the lower leg, we believe that head injuries, including concussion, might be more prevalent than people might expect.
'The limited evidence we have available suggests that the injury risk in basketball is similar to sports such as rugby, which has invested huge amounts of resources into making the sport safer.
'We encourage basketball players and coaches to complete our online questionnaire to help inform future policy and practice and make basketball safer for everyone playing the sport now and in the future.'
Participants are invited to take part in the study if they are over 16 and have trained, played or coached basketball at an English club, school or college in the 2022-23 season.
For more information on taking part, contact the University of Gloucestershire on (01242) 714700.
