Caring for the Professional Basketball Athlete: A Conceptual Framework

However, for the growth each respective field had experienced, they still exist in silos or a rudimentary form of integration.As clinicians and practitioners within the realm of sports medicine and performance, we must strive to provide the highest standard of care to our athletes.The professional basketball athlete is no different and thus, this paper seeks to put forth a new conceptual framework in making this happen. Sports MedicineThe field of sports medicine has experienced a tremendous amount of growth that is evident by the expansion of degree options, as well as types of clinicians being employed in the professional basketball setting [8,9].The early beginnings of sports medicine saw the mainstay of the team consisting of one physician and one athletic trainer.The role of the physician was to function as the leader of the team while the athletic trainer AbstractPurpose: The professional basketball player presents a unique challenge that must be approached with a conceptual lens between the sports medicine and sports performance staff. Methods:The author used a combination of subjective and objective methods to determine the primary clinicians on the sports medicine staff.The sports performance staff was also investigated using the standards set forth by respective organizations such as the NSCA.Lastly, data and frameworks were combined to come up with a new integrative algorithm in caring for these specific athletes.Results/Conclusion: Results indicated the sports medicine staff consists primarily of physician, athletic trainers, and physical therapists.The sports performance staff consists of a strength and conditioning specialists (CSCS), obtained through the NSCA.The key components of the conceptual framework were Communication, Collaboration, and being open to Feedback for optimal performance healthcare.Applications to sport: The professional basketball athlete invests time, money, and energy into their career.Similarly, organizations/teams are continually looking for ways to increase the standard of care for their athletes, especially with the amount of investment trending into millions of dollars.Through seamless integration and constant communication, the sports medicine and performance staff can create a novel, better framework in caring for their athletes.