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Wondering about floors - and more

 

There are many speculations regarding the Blazer injuries – drafting/trading for players with previous injuries, incompetent training staff, offending the patella gods, etc. I've tended to believe it is just bad luck, but have recently wondered about something I haven't read about here (perhaps missed because the injury conjectures aren't one of my favorite topics) – and that is the floor(s).

 

I know that dance troupes will not schedule performances in some venues because the floors don't have enough “give”. I am curious if there is a standard for NBA floors. If there is, how much leeway is allowed? If there is a standard, how often is the floor checked and by whom? Has there been any separate research on basketball floors that share space with ice? How about our practice facility? Is that floor the absolute kindest for knees?  By whose reckoning? Is there any difference at all between the feel of the practice facility floor and the Rose Garden? If there is, could that cause problems?

 

Do all NBA floors have to have the same finish? Exactly the same? Who decides and by what measures? Is it a balance between sticky vs slippery? How about temperature/humidity combinations at floor level – could that affect the finish or spring of the floor?

 

What happened to the rule about “only basketball shoes on the playing surface”? I'm thinking of Rebecca and her stiletto heels and knowing there are many people on that floor not wearing specifically basketball - or appropriate – shoes. Or is that a long ago old wives tale long since debunked?

 

And what about shoes? Has there been any independent research into foot/ankle/knee injuries and the shoes worn either at the time the injury occurred or worn most often during practice and games? What about shoes and floors in combination? Are there certain types of shoes recommended for player weights and/or positions? When X shoe company comes up with a player shoe, has there been independent medical verification that this is absolutely the best shoe for the player with no trade off of safety for appearance? Is there a known point at which grip becomes responsible for twisted knees?   Or is this all still in the research stage and it isn't really known that, for example, big men should wear high tops and speedy players need different grip patterns from power players?

 

I don't expect anyone to be able to answer  these questions, I'm just throwing them out for thought - and maybe one of our students is looking for a research paper topic :D




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this won’t answer any of your questions, jorga, but here is an interesting article relating soccer strength/condition programs and injuries vs those in the nba.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=171975

i’ve never seen a study done on the relationship between hardwood floors in basketball and injuries that occur…

by Buster ******* Posey on Nov 7, 2010 2:24 PM PST reply actions  

The worst basketball floor beats the best concrete or asphalt court.

The NBA used to allow the old Boston Garden floor with its dead spots, so I doubt that any standards exist other than covering the ice after a hockey game.

by MiledAnimal on Nov 7, 2010 5:04 PM PST reply actions  

Great post

You could envision a high-tech floor that could become softer in a specific spot, just before a player hit the ground. The new XBOX controller watches you and knows where you are, the angle of your joints, etc. You could extrapolate that it might be possible for software to tell 0.2 seconds in advance that an injury collision was probable. What to do? I don’t know – shoot the court full of foam or something.

It’s not inconceivable that injuries cost the NBA 10-15% of gross. Seems like more work could go into both high and low tech solutions.

by Engineering Problem on Nov 7, 2010 6:14 PM PST reply actions  

pf flyers vs Nike

I’ll qualify this by saying " I AM NOT A DOCTOR" but just a guy whose old enough to know that 30 years ago or more my gym shoes slipped a little and gave a little and you saw a lot of rolled ankles. Now the shoes grip without slip and fit so much tighter that all the stress must be transfering up to the knee. My old Converse would slide and flex but my new Nike’s just stop…now!

by BOSSMAO on Nov 7, 2010 8:10 PM PST reply actions  

I doubt the injury problem is related to the floors

The practice facility floor is almost certainly a nail-down, wood-strip flooring similar to the traditional type people put in their houses and the type most gyms have. There is probably a concrete slab under the floor as a sub-floor. Between the concrete and the wood surface is a layering of rubber pads, plywood and wood sleepers (strips of wood laid flat) to give the floor some bounce. There are a lot of variations on the layering systems (see first link below). A “sprung” floor for dancing tends to be more bouncy and have two layers of sleepers in opposite directions for more bounce; this is not ideal for basketball. Harder floors are harder on joints, but softer floors are more tiring (think of running on sand). So there is a happy balance to strike. The “DIN” testing and rating system provides an objective standard for comparing flexibility between systems. Governing bodies for sports etc can set requirements for certain DIN ratings or recommendations. Presumably the NBA or players union has done this.

The arena floor is made to be removed, so it is panelized versus nailed in place. It also has a hardwood surface (typically hard maple) on some form of wood or plywood backing with rubber pads to provide some softness and cushion. The DIN system applies to these systems as well.

Top-coats for the floors are typically a gloss finish polyurethane or something similar.

A good source for gym flooring information:
Nail-down http://www.robbinsfloor.com/collegiate.html
Panelized http://www.robbinsfloor.com/portable.html

put a body on 'em

by RayBourque on Nov 7, 2010 10:55 PM PST reply actions   1 recs

I recently reading something about old guys, maybe Mo Lucas

Where they talked about playing some game in the preseason and everyone hated it because it was on a concrete floor.

I used to go by tominhawaii. My real name is still Tom.

by LukeBabbittFTW on Nov 8, 2010 3:01 AM PST reply actions  

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