Injuries in community-level Australian football : Results from a club-based injury surveillance system
- Authors: Ekegren, Christina , Gabbe, Belinda , Donaldson, Alex , Cook, Jill , Lloyd, David , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 18, no. 6 (2014), p.651-655
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565907
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: Far fewer injury surveillance systems exist within community sport than elite sport. As a result, most epidemiological data on sports injuries have limited relevance to community-level sporting populations. There is potential for data from community club-based injury surveillance systems to provide a better understanding of community sports injuries. This study aimed to describe the incidence and profile of community-level Australian football injuries reported using a club-based injury surveillance system. Design: Prospective, epidemiological study. Methods: Sports trainers from five community-level Australian football leagues recorded injury data during two football seasons using the club-based system. An online surveillance tool developed by Sports Medicine Australia ('Sports Injury Tracker') was used for data collection. The injury incidence, profile and match injury rate were reported. Results: Injury data for 1205 players were recorded in season one and for 823 players in season two. There was significant variability in injury incidence across clubs. However, aggregated data were consistent across football seasons, with an average of 0.7 injuries per player per season and 38-39 match injuries per 1000. h match exposure. A large proportion of injuries occurred during matches, involved the lower limb and resulted from contact. Conclusions: Data from the club-based system provided a profile of injuries consistent with previous studies in community-level Australian football. Moreover, injury incidence was consistent with other studies using similar personnel to record data. However, injury incidence was lower than that reported in studies using player self-report or healthcare professionals and may be an underestimate of true values.
Using video analysis for concussion surveillance in Australian football
- Authors: Makdissi, Michael , Davis, Gavin
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 19, no. 12 (2016), p. 958-963
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: The objectives of the study were to assess the relationship between various player and game factors and risk of concussion; and to assess the reliability of video analysis for mechanistic assessment of concussion in Australian football. Methods: All impacts and collisions resulting in concussion were identified during the 2011 Australian Football League season. An extensive list of factors for assessment was created based upon previous analysis of concussion in Australian Football League and expert opinions. The authors independently reviewed the video clips and correlation for each factor was examined. Results: A total of 82 concussions were reported in 194 games (rate: 8.7 concussions per 1000 match hours; 95% confidence interval: 6.9-10.5). Player demographics and game variables such as venue, timing of the game (day, night or twilight), quarter, travel status (home or interstate) or score margin did not demonstrate a significant relationship with risk of concussion; although a higher percentage of concussions occurred in the first 5 min of game time of the quarter (36.6%), when compared to the last 5 min (20.7%). Variables with good inter-rater agreement included position on the ground, circumstances of the injury and cause of the impact. The remainder of the variables assessed had fair-poor inter-rater agreement. Common problems included insufficient or poor quality video and interpretation issues related to the definitions used. Conclusions: Clear definitions and good quality video from multiple camera angles are required to improve the utility of video analysis for concussion surveillance in Australian football. (C) 2016 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The impact of injury definition on injury surveillance in novice runners
- Authors: Kluitenberg, Bas , van Middelkoop, Marienke , Verhagen, Evert , Hartgens, Fred , Huisstede, Bionka , Diercks, Ron , van der Worp, Henk
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 19, no. 6 (Jun 2016), p. 470-475
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: Despite several consensus statements, different injury definitions are used in the literature. This study aimed to identify the impact of different injury definitions on the nature and incidence of complaints captured during a short-term running program for novice runners. Methods: 1696 participants completed weekly diaries on running exposure and musculoskeletal complaints during a 6-week running program. These data were used to compare six different injury definitions (presence of running-related pain, training-reduction, time-loss of.one day or one week). Injuries were registered under these different definitions. Consequently incidence and the nature of complaints were compared between definitions. Results: The different injury definitions resulted in incidences that varied between 7.5% and 58.0%, or 18.7 and 239.6 injuries per 1000 h of running. The median duration of injury complaints was 4-7 days for injuries registered under a 'day definition', while complaints registered under a 'week definition' lasted 20-22 days. For running-related pain injuries the median of the maximum amount of pain was 3.0. In training-reduction and time-loss injuries these median values were scored between 5.0 and 7.0. No significant differences in anatomical locations between injuries that were registered under a 'day definition' or a 'week definition' were found. Injuries registered under a time-loss definition were located relatively more often at the knee, while complaints at the pelvis/sacrum/buttock were captured more often under a running-related pain definition. Conclusions: Injury definitions largely impact injury incidence. Location of injury is also affected by choice of injury definition. This stressed the need for standardized injury registration methods. (C) 2015 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Groningen, Netherlands.
A new way of categorising recurrent, repeat and multiple sports injuries for injury incidence studies - the subsequent injury categorisation (SIC) model
- Authors: Finch, Caroline , Cook, Jill , Gabbe, Belinda , Orchard, John
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Epidemiologist Vol. 22, no. 1 (2015), p. 22-25
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Injuries are a major contributor to healthcare costs and individuals' health and disability status. In response to the overall public health burden, injuries were one of the first medical conditions identified as an Australian National Health Priority Area. Our previous epidemiological research has shown that sports injuries, especially those sustained through formal and highly competitive sport, are often associated with considerable pain and dysfunction. They have significant ongoing impact on quality of life and need for medical treatment, including in the hospital setting.They are also a major barrier towards both the uptake and continuance of health-generating physical activity guidance.
The NLstart2run study : Economic burden of running-related injuries in novice runners participating in a novice running program
- Authors: Hespanhol Junior, Luiz , Huisstede, Bionka , Smits, Dirk-Wouter , Kluitenberg, Bas , van der Worp, Henk , van Middelkoop, Marienke , Hartgens, Fred , Verhagen, Evert
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 19, no. 10 (2016), p. 800-804
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: To investigate the economic burden of running-related injuries (RRI) occurred during the 6-week 'Start-to-Run' program of the Dutch Athletics Federation in 2013. Methods: This was a monetary cost analysis using the data prospectively gathered alongside the RRI registration in the NLstart2run study. RRI data were collected weekly. Cost diaries were applied two and six weeks after the RRI registration to collect data regarding healthcare utilisation (direct costs) and absenteeism from paid and unpaid work (indirect costs). RRI was defined as running-related pain that hampered running ability for three consecutive training sessions. Results: From the 1696 participants included in the analysis, 185 reported a total of 272 RRIs. A total of 26.1% of the cost data (71 RRIs reported by 50 participants) were missing. Therefore, a multiple imputation procedure was performed. The economic burden (direct plus indirect costs) of RRIs was estimated at (sic)83.22 (95% CI(sic)50.42-(sic)116.02) per RRI, and (sic)13.35 (95% CI(sic)7.07-(sic)19.63) per participant. The direct cost per RRI was (sic)56.93 (95% CI (sic)42.05-(sic)71.81) and the indirect cost per RRI was (sic)26.29(95% CI (sic)0.00-(sic)54.79). The indirect cost was higher for sudden onset RRIs than for gradual onset RRIs, with a mean difference of (sic)33.92 (95% CI (sic)17.96-(sic)49.87). Conclusions: Direct costs of RRIs were 2-fold higher than the indirect costs, and sudden onset RRIs presented higher costs than gradual onset RRIs. The results of this study are important to provide information to public health agencies and policymakers about the economic burden of RRIs in novice runners. (C) 2015 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
How healthy is Australian sport?
- Authors: Eime, Rochelle , Harvey, Jack
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Epidemiologist Vol. 22, no. 1 (2015), p. 9-10
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Behavioural epidemiology in health promotion has been defined as having five phases: establishing links between behaviours and health; developing measures of the behaviour; identifying influences on the behaviour; evaluating interventions to change the behaviour; and translating the research into practice. This article outlines some recent developments in the application of behavioural epidemiology to the issue of sport participation in Australia and its consequential health benefits.
Performance success or failure is influenced by weeks lost to injury and illness in elite Australian track and field athletes : A 5-year prospective study
- Authors: Raysmith, Benjamin , Drew, Michael
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 19, no. 10 (2016), p. 778-783
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: To investigate the impact of training modification on achieving performance goals. Previous research demonstrates an inverse relationship between injury burden and success in team sports. It is unknown whether this relationship exists within individual sport such as athletics. Design: A prospective, cohort study (n = 33 International Track and Field Athletes; 76 athlete seasons) across five international competition seasons. Methods: Athlete training status was recorded weekly over a 5-year period. Over the 6-month preparation season, relationships between training weeks completed, the number of injury/illness events and the success or failure of a performance goal at major championships was investigated. Two-by-two table were constructed and attributable risks in the exposed (AFE) calculated. A mixed-model, logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between failure and burden per injury/illness. Receiver Operator Curve (ROC) analysis was performed to ascertain the optimal threshold of training week completion to maximise the chance of success. Results: Likelihood of achieving a performance goal increased by 7-times in those that completed >80% of planned training weeks (AUC, 0.72; 95%CI 0.64-0.81). Training availability accounted for 86% of successful seasons (AFE=0.86, 95%CI, 0.46 to 0.96). The majority of new injuries occurred within the first month of the preparation season (30%) and most illnesses occurred within 2-months of the event (50%). For every modified training week the chance of success significantly reduced (OR=0.74, 95%CI 0.58 to 0.94). Conclusions: Injuries and illnesses, and their influence on training availability, during preparation are major determinants of an athlete's chance of performance goal success or failure at the international level. (C) 2016 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Biomechanical epidemiology : A novel approach for fitness activity injury prevention
- Authors: Gray, Shannon , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Epidemiologist Vol. 22, no. 1 (2015), p. 26-28
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: There have been limited epidemiological studies that delve into injuries sustained during fitness activities, and fewer that have explored injury prevention strategies and evaluated their success. Popular individual and team sports such as athletics, swimming, basketball and various codes of football have enjoyed extensive epidemiological attention for years, and due to the sports' popularity and public profile, will continue to be highly researched areas. Other epidemiological research has focused on sports injuries more generally, or on specific injury types such as concussion, anterior cruciate ligament injury and hamstring injury. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Exercise Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS), fitness/gym is the second most popular recreation or sport activity participated in by Australians aged 15+ years. Considering the number of people who participate in fitness activities, and the devastating impact that injuries can have on the individual, their family and friends, and society, it is necessary to devote some research to preventing these.
Spatial epidemiology : A new approach for understanding and preventing sport injuries
- Authors: Singh, Himalaya , Fortington, Lauren , Eime, Rochelle , Thompson, Helen , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Epidemiologist Vol. 22, no. 1 (2015), p. 32-34
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: In order to develop effective strategies to prevent sports injuries, we need to have an understanding of the people and populations who are most at risk of injury as well as the risk factors associated with sustaining injury. Spatial epidemiology is a method used to address questions of when, where, to whom and how health outcomes such as sports injuries occur at a population level, taking into account geographic variation. The aim of this article is to outline the potential application of spatial epidemiology to achieve a better understanding of sports injuries to inform prevention strategies.
Measurement of a drowning incidence rate combining direct observation of an exposed population with mortality statistics
- Authors: Morgan, Damian , Ozanne-Smith, Joan
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion Vol. 22, no. 3 (2015), p. 209-214
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Drowning risk factors may be identified by comparing drowning incidence rates for comparable at-risk populations but precise methods are lacking. To address this knowledge gap, an ecological study extrapolated crude time-duration exposure to water for a specified at-risk sample of surf bathers to estimate the bather population for all wave-dominated beaches in Victoria, Australia, over a four-year summer season period. An incidence rate was calculated using surf bather drowning deaths frequencies matched for time and location. For the sample, 47,341 hours of surf bathing were estimated from 177,528 bathing episodes. Generalising these results to Victoria, the crude drowning deaths incidence rate in the summer season was 0.41 per 1,000,000 person-hours of surf bathing (95% CI 0.37–0.45). Further application of the method, particularly in open water settings, may be used to identify candidate drowning risk factors to advance drowning prevention strategies.
Match injuries in Sri Lankan junior cricket : A prospective, longitudinal study
- Authors: Gamage, Prasanna , Fortington, Lauren , Kountouris, Alex , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 22, no. 6 (2019), p. 647-652
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: Understanding the nature of injuries in cricket is key to mitigate injury risks and prioritise preventive measures. This study aimed to identify the incidence and nature of match injuries among Sri Lankan junior cricketers. Design: Longitudinal follow-up study with prospective in-season data collection. Methods: A national survey of schoolboy, division-1 cricket teams in under-15 and under-17 age groups. Using a paper-based questionnaire, distributed to school-teams at the start of the 2016 cricket season, respondents recorded any injuries, including the site, type and mechanism. Match injury incidence rates (match-IIR) (injuries/100 match-player-days) were calculated overall, by position and for match time loss (MTL) and non-MTL injuries. Results: From 59 school-teams, 573 players responded, with 404 players reporting 744 injuries in 648 matches. The match-IIR was 28.0 injuries/100 match-player-days (95% CI = 26.0–30.2). The highest match-IIR was reported among fielders (46.0% of all injuries sustained; match-IIR = 12.9) compared with batters (25.4%; match-IIR = 7.1) and bowlers (20.3%; match-IIR = 5.7). Abrasions and bruises to the knee or elbow were the most common injuries among fielders, with the majority being non-MTL injuries. Conclusions: Almost half (46.0%) of all injuries were to fielders, and more research into their severity and mechanisms is needed to identify the need for, and design of, preventive measures. Batters sustained a relatively large number of facial-organ injuries from being struck by the ball, presenting a need to evaluate the use and appropriateness of helmets by Sri Lankan junior cricketers. Similar to other junior cricket studies, the most common injuries among bowlers were strains and sprains, mainly affecting the lower limbs and lower back. © 2018
Behind every active and sporting population, there is an Epidemiologist
- Authors: Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Epidemiologist Vol. 22, no. 1 (2015), p. 3-4
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This Round Table on The Epidemiology of Fitness, Sport and Physical Recreation makes for compelling reading. Australia has long been regarded as a sports-mad nation and one that has achieved major international sporting achievements because of its long-term investment in sports medicine and sports science research. Sports spectatorship is also a major pastime in Australia, underpinning the value of using sport to promote a range of health promotion messages (e.g. in relation to tobacco, alcohol, social tolerance and most recently violence prevention). People of all ages now enjoy participating in a wide range of activities from general physical activity to fitness training to cycling to team ball sports such as Australian football to combat sports. All of these feature in papers in this issue.
Prevalence and risk factors of ischaemic stroke in the young : a regional Australian perspective
- Authors: Siriratnam, Pakeeran , Godfrey, Amelia , O’Connor, Ellie , Pearce, Dora , Hu, Chih , Low, Ashlea , Hair, Casey , Oqueli, Ernesto , Sharma, Anand , Kraemer, Thomas , Sahathevan, Ramesh
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Internal Medicine Journal Vol. 50, no. 6 (2020), p. 698-704
- Full Text:
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- Description: Background: There is no universally accepted age cut-off for defining young strokes. Aims: We aimed to determine, based on the profile of young stroke patients in our regional centre, an appropriate age cut-off for young strokes. Methods: A retrospective analysis of all ischaemic stroke patients admitted to our centre from 2015 to 2017. We identified 391 ischaemic stroke patients; 30 patients between the ages of ≤50, 40 between 51–60 inclusive and 321 ≥ 61 years of age. We collected data on demographic profiles, risk factors and stroke classification using the Trial of Org 10 172 in Acute Stroke Treatment criteria. Results: We found significant differences between the ≤50 and ≥61 age groups for most of the risk factors and similarities between the 51–60 inclusive and ≥ 61 age groups. At least one of the six risk factors assessed in the study was present in 86.7% of the youngest group, 97.5% of the intermediate age group and 97.2% in the oldest group. In terms of the mechanisms of stroke, the youngest and oldest age groups in our study differed in the prevalence of cryptogenic, cardioembolic and other causes of stroke. The middle and older age groups had similar mechanisms of stroke. Conclusions: The prevalence of vascular risk factors and mechanisms of stroke likewise differed significantly across age groups. This study suggests that 50 years is an appropriate age cut-off for defining young strokes and reinforces the importance of primary prevention in all age groups. © 2019 Royal Australasian College of Physicians