{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,14]],"date-time":"2026-06-14T17:57:09Z","timestamp":1781459829810,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780272000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780272000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Achilles tendon ruptures are among the most debilitating injuries in professional basketball, often leading to prolonged absence and long-term performance decline. While calf strains are common among National Basketball Association (NBA) athletes, their role as a precursor to Achilles rupture remains poorly understood.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Hypothesis:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A previous calf strain would be associated with increased odds of Achilles tendon rupture in NBA players and that affected players would experience significant post-injury performance declines.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Study Design:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Case-cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Publicly available data on NBA players from 1958 to 2024 were analyzed, with the data search conducted in June 2025. Players with Achilles ruptures (n = 60) were compared with players with calf strains who did not sustain a rupture (n = 258). Logistic regression adjusted for age, body mass index, position, starter status, and workload. Pre- and postinjury performance was evaluated over 2 seasons using paired\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">t<\/jats:italic>\n                      tests. Descriptive analyses characterized injury laterality, game context, quarter, shoe type, and draft position. Video review assessed injury mechanisms.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Previous calf strain was associated with increased odds of Achilles rupture (odds ratio, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.16-5.22;\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = .02). Among those with both injuries, 85.7% occurred on the same side, with a mean interval of 1.9 years. Of all players, a total of 75% returned to play. Postinjury declines were observed in player efficiency rating (\u22122.46), win shares (\u22123.23), games played (\u2212260.3), and minutes per game (\u22125.19) (all\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt; .001). Return was more likely in younger players and those on multiyear contracts. Video analysis revealed a consistent \u201cfalse step\u201d mechanism in 95% of cases with footage. Most Achilles tendon ruptures occurred during in-game activity, while shoe type was evaluated descriptively and was not associated with player position or preinjury workload.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our study showed that previous calf strain is associated with an increased risk of Achilles tendon rupture in NBA players and may serve as a clinically identifiable risk marker. Rupture leads to substantial and sustained performance decline, even among those who return. Targeted rehabilitation and movement retraining may help mitigate progression to rupture in high-risk athletes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1177\/23259671261449170","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,12]],"date-time":"2026-06-12T14:27:58Z","timestamp":1781274478000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prior Calf Strain as a Risk Factor for Achilles Tendon Rupture in National Basketball Association Players: A Retrospective Analysis"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-5501-9282","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zaid","family":"Elsabbagh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ysa","family":"Le","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-9296-2824","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"George","family":"Bcharah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Phoenix, Arizona, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6943-5681","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Ryu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Badin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nigel N.","family":"Hsu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"John Michael","family":"Thompson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amiethab","family":"Aiyer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546513490659"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1053\/j.jfas.2023.12.008"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1249\/MSS.0000000000002459"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.injury.2014.06.022"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fphys.2020.606706"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1113\/JP270220"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s40279-014-0200-z"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","unstructured":"Curcic D. Basketball shoe statistics. RunRepeat.com. Published September 16 2023. Accessed July 14 2025. https:\/\/runrepeat.com\/basketball-shoe-statistics"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.246507"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1249\/MSS.0000000000002004"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2016-097177"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546514531014"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1071100720969633"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/bmb\/ldaf006"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/sms.70026"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2021-104835"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546519858609"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4085\/1062-6050-243-17"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/03635465211014506"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1302\/0301-620X.103B6.BJJ-2020-1890.R1"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_22_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2021.28199"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2519\/jospt.2018.0302"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_24_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1123\/jab.2022-0088"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546517704429"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/JSM.0b013e3181ed7e50"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2519\/jospt.2023.11981"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiomech.2016.03.004"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_29_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546517713001"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_30_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/sms.13974"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_31_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2016-096106"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_32_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/srep39871"}],"container-title":["Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/23259671261449170","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/23259671261449170","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/23259671261449170","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,14]],"date-time":"2026-06-14T17:09:29Z","timestamp":1781456969000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/23259671261449170"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"references-count":31,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/23259671261449170"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/23259671261449170","relation":{},"ISSN":["2325-9671","2325-9671"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2325-9671","type":"print"},{"value":"2325-9671","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"article-number":"23259671261449170"}}