Concussion in community Australian football - epidemiological monitoring of the causes and immediate impact on play
- Fortington, Lauren, Twomey, Dara, Finch, Caroline
- Authors: Fortington, Lauren , Twomey, Dara , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Injury Epidemiology Vol. 2, no. 1 (2015), p. 1-6
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: BACKGROUND: Head injuries, particularly concussion, are a major cause of concern in many sports, particularly the football codes, driving a need to better understand injury mechanisms and potential methods of prevention. The aim of this study was to describe the mechanisms and follow up care of concussion injuries sustained in adult male community Australian football to identify target areas for prevention and management. METHODS: Secondary analysis of injury data collected in a cluster randomised controlled trial in community Australian football across two states of Australia in 2007 and 2008. There were 1564 players from 18 clubs. The main outcome measures were the number and rate of head/neck/face (HNF) injuries and concussion sustained in games. A specific description of the mechanisms of the concussion injuries is presented along with the immediate return-to-play status of concussion cases. RESULTS: 143 HNF injuries were sustained by 132 players. The game HNF injury incidence was 4.9 per 1000 game hours (n = 138; 95 % confidence interval 4.1; 5.7). Just under a quarter (n = 34) of all HNF injuries were recorded as concussion. All concussions occurred during games (none in training), with all but one related to body contact with other players. Overall, 68 % of the concussions were considered within game rules, while 32 % were either outside of the rules or unclear. Most (88 %) players left the field immediately following concussion but 47 % later returned to play in the same game. CONCLUSIONS: Prevention strategies for concussion need to be based on knowledge of the mechanisms of injury. Most concussions in community Australian football occurred through body contact with other players or during tackling. Management of players post-concussion was generally poor with over half of the cases continuing to play in the same game. Therefore, new primary prevention strategies that target body-contact/tackling skills and improved secondary prevention measures relating to compliance with return-to-play protocols would be valuable.
- Authors: Fortington, Lauren , Twomey, Dara , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Injury Epidemiology Vol. 2, no. 1 (2015), p. 1-6
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: BACKGROUND: Head injuries, particularly concussion, are a major cause of concern in many sports, particularly the football codes, driving a need to better understand injury mechanisms and potential methods of prevention. The aim of this study was to describe the mechanisms and follow up care of concussion injuries sustained in adult male community Australian football to identify target areas for prevention and management. METHODS: Secondary analysis of injury data collected in a cluster randomised controlled trial in community Australian football across two states of Australia in 2007 and 2008. There were 1564 players from 18 clubs. The main outcome measures were the number and rate of head/neck/face (HNF) injuries and concussion sustained in games. A specific description of the mechanisms of the concussion injuries is presented along with the immediate return-to-play status of concussion cases. RESULTS: 143 HNF injuries were sustained by 132 players. The game HNF injury incidence was 4.9 per 1000 game hours (n = 138; 95 % confidence interval 4.1; 5.7). Just under a quarter (n = 34) of all HNF injuries were recorded as concussion. All concussions occurred during games (none in training), with all but one related to body contact with other players. Overall, 68 % of the concussions were considered within game rules, while 32 % were either outside of the rules or unclear. Most (88 %) players left the field immediately following concussion but 47 % later returned to play in the same game. CONCLUSIONS: Prevention strategies for concussion need to be based on knowledge of the mechanisms of injury. Most concussions in community Australian football occurred through body contact with other players or during tackling. Management of players post-concussion was generally poor with over half of the cases continuing to play in the same game. Therefore, new primary prevention strategies that target body-contact/tackling skills and improved secondary prevention measures relating to compliance with return-to-play protocols would be valuable.
Ground condition as a risk factor in sports injury aetiology studies : the level of concordance between objective and subjective measures
- Twomey, Dara, Petrass, Lauren, Orchard, John, Finch, Caroline
- Authors: Twomey, Dara , Petrass, Lauren , Orchard, John , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Injury Epidemiology Vol. 1, no. 1 (2014), p.1-7
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description:
BACKGROUND:It is well known that the condition and type of sporting ground influences the risk of sports injury. However, the lack of evidence on the relationship between subjective and objective sporting ground condition assessments in sports injury aetiology studies has implications for the development of effective injury prevention strategies. This paper aims to examine concordance between subjectively rated and objective ground hardness and moisture measurements to inform data collection methods for future sports injury aetiology studies. METHODS:Subjective, observational assessments of ground hardness and soil moisture were recorded on 36 occasions during an Australian football season using two four-point scales of 'very soft' to 'very hard' and 'very wet' to 'very dry', respectively. Independent, objectively measured hardness and soil moisture were also undertaken at nine locations on the same grounds. The maximum and minimum ground values and the computed average of ground hardness and soil moisture were analysed. Somer's d statistic was calculated to measure the level of concordance between the subjective and objective measures. RESULTS:A significant, moderate to substantial level of agreement was found between the subjective ratings and the average objective hardness values (d = 0.467, p <0.001), but there was perfect agreement on just less than half of the occasions. The level of concordance between the subjective and objective moisture ratings was low to moderate or trivial for all moisture measures (0.002
0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Compared to objective measures, the subjective assessments were more accurate for ground hardness than for soil moisture levels and raters were just as likely to underestimate or overestimate the condition under review. This has implications for future sports injury aetiology studies that include ground condition assessments and particularly the use of subjective measures to underpin the development of future injury prevention strategies.
- Authors: Twomey, Dara , Petrass, Lauren , Orchard, John , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Injury Epidemiology Vol. 1, no. 1 (2014), p.1-7
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description:
BACKGROUND:It is well known that the condition and type of sporting ground influences the risk of sports injury. However, the lack of evidence on the relationship between subjective and objective sporting ground condition assessments in sports injury aetiology studies has implications for the development of effective injury prevention strategies. This paper aims to examine concordance between subjectively rated and objective ground hardness and moisture measurements to inform data collection methods for future sports injury aetiology studies. METHODS:Subjective, observational assessments of ground hardness and soil moisture were recorded on 36 occasions during an Australian football season using two four-point scales of 'very soft' to 'very hard' and 'very wet' to 'very dry', respectively. Independent, objectively measured hardness and soil moisture were also undertaken at nine locations on the same grounds. The maximum and minimum ground values and the computed average of ground hardness and soil moisture were analysed. Somer's d statistic was calculated to measure the level of concordance between the subjective and objective measures. RESULTS:A significant, moderate to substantial level of agreement was found between the subjective ratings and the average objective hardness values (d = 0.467, p <0.001), but there was perfect agreement on just less than half of the occasions. The level of concordance between the subjective and objective moisture ratings was low to moderate or trivial for all moisture measures (0.002
0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Compared to objective measures, the subjective assessments were more accurate for ground hardness than for soil moisture levels and raters were just as likely to underestimate or overestimate the condition under review. This has implications for future sports injury aetiology studies that include ground condition assessments and particularly the use of subjective measures to underpin the development of future injury prevention strategies.
Preventing lower limb injuries : Is the latest evidence being translated into the football field?
- Twomey, Dara, Finch, Caroline, Roediger, E., Lloyd, David
- Authors: Twomey, Dara , Finch, Caroline , Roediger, E. , Lloyd, David
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 12, no. 4 (2009), p. 452-456
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: There is accumulating international evidence that lower limb injuries in sport can be prevented through targeted training but the extent to which this knowledge has been translated to real-world sporting practice is not known. A semi-structured questionnaire of all coaches from the nine Sydney Australian Football League Premier Division teams was conducted. Information was sought about their knowledge and behaviours in relation to delivering training programs, including their uptake of the latest scientific evidence for injury prevention. Direct observation of a sample of the coach-delivered training sessions was also undertaken to validate the questionnaire. Coaches ranked training session elements directly related to the game as being of most importance. They strongly favoured warming-up and cooling-down as injury prevention measures but changing direction and side-stepping training was considered to be of little/no importance for safety. Only one-third believed that balance training had some importance for injury prevention, despite accumulating scientific evidence to the contrary. Drills, set play, ball handling and kicking skills were all considered to be of least importance to injury prevention. These views were consistent with the content of the observed coach-led training sessions. In conclusion, current football training sessions do not give adequate attention to the development of skills most likely to reduce the risk of lower limb injury in players. There is a need to improve the translation of the latest scientific evidence about effective injury prevention into coaching practices. © 2008 Sports Medicine Australia.
- Description: 2003006500
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