The correlation between functional movement, core stability and the risk of suffering injuries of highly skillful basketball players

Research aim: to evaluate the correlation between functional movement, core stability and the risk of suffering lower extremities injuries of highly skillful basketball players. Objectives of the research: 1) To evaluate the functional movement stereotypes of basketball players. 2) To measure the stability of the basketball players’ core. 3) To evaluate the risk of suffering a lower extremity injury of basketball players. 4) To evaluate the correlation between the results of functional movement execution stereotypes, core stability and the risk of suffering lower extremities injuries of basketball players. Participants and research methods. Study included 16 highly skillful basketball players. The average age was 26.1 ± 3,6 years old. The functional movement were measured using the Functional Movement Screening tests. The core stability was measured after evaluating the static endurance ratio between the abdomen and back extensors muscles, between the core muscles of the two different sides and also between the sides core muscles and back extensors muscles. The risk of suffering an injury were measured by using the dynamic balance Y test, static balance Flamingo test, Landing Error Scoring System, Weight-Bearing Lunge Test. Conclusions: 1. Highly skillful basketball players had the best quality results while performing the in-line lunge, and trunk stability push-up movements, and the worst – while performing rotational stability and hurdle step movements. 2. Highly skillful basketball players’ best static muscle endurance correlation was between abdomen and back extensors muscles, worst – between left core side and back extensors muscles. 3. The most highly skillful basketball players had an increased risk of suffering lower extremities injuries while assessing the weight-bearing lunge, and dynamic balance Y tests. The least – while assessing Landing Error Scoring System test. 4. A correlation was found between the basketball players’ functional movement stereotypes, core stability and the risk of suffering lower extremities injuries. The highest correlation was between core stability and functional movement execution, and the lowest – between risk of suffering an injury test results and core stability