Injury characteristics, mechanisms, and game circumstances in junior community-level Australian football
Indianna L. Franke,
Andrea B. Mosler,
Brooke E. Patterson,
Kay M. Crossley,
Patrick Clifton,
Steven McPhail,
Mark J. Scholes,
Matthew G. King
Affiliations
Indianna L. Franke
La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Australia; Australian IOC Research Centre, La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, La Trobe University, Australia
Andrea B. Mosler
La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Australia; Australian IOC Research Centre, La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, La Trobe University, Australia
Brooke E. Patterson
La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Australia; Australian IOC Research Centre, La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, La Trobe University, Australia
Kay M. Crossley
La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Australia; Australian IOC Research Centre, La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, La Trobe University, Australia
Patrick Clifton
Adelaide Football Club, Adelaide, Australia
Steven McPhail
Faculty of Health, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Mark J. Scholes
La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Australia; Australian IOC Research Centre, La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, La Trobe University, Australia; Discipline of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia
Matthew G. King
Discipline of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia; Corresponding author. Discipline of Physiotherapy, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Objective: Describe the injury characteristics, game circumstances, and immediate action and management of injuries sustained by boys and girls participating in junior community Australian football. Design: Cohort Study. Methods: All community junior Australian football players from one Victorian-based league were eligible to participate if they were injured during a game and presented to the gameday first aid medics. Injured players were subsequently followed up with a phone call to undertake an injury surveillance survey. The injury surveillance survey gathered information relating to the injury characteristics, game circumstances and management undertaken. Additionally, all players who sustained a head impact were asked about the presence or absence of concussion-related symptoms. Results: 439 players sustained an injury in the 2022 season, with 354 (80.6 %) participating in the survey. The head was the most frequently reported injured body region (n = 194, 54.8 %), with approximately half (n = 101) being a diagnosed or suspected sports-related concussion. The next three most frequently reported body regions were the ankle (n = 29, 8.2 %), knee (n = 24, 6.8 %), and shoulder (n = 20, 5.6 %). Almost all injuries were acute onset (n = 340, 96.0 %) and resulted from a contact-based mechanism (94.9 %, n = 222 direct contact, n = 114 indirect contact). Tackling was the most frequently reported game circumstance resulting in an injury (n = 160, 45.2 %). Conclusion: The head was the most frequently reported injured body region, with approximately one in every two reported head impacts resulting in a diagnosed/suspected sports-related concussion. Injury prevention strategies that promote safety when tackling and being tackled may reduce the frequency of injury, warranting further investigation.
