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.
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.
Injury surveillance in community sport : Can we obtain valid data from sports trainers?
- Authors: Ekegren, Christina , Gabbe, Belinda , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports Vol. 25, no. 3 (2015), p. 315-322
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: A lack of available injury data on community sports participants has hampered the development of informed preventive strategies for the broad-base of sports participation. In community sports settings, sports trainers or first-aiders are well-placed to carry out injury surveillance, but few studies have evaluated their ability to do so. The aim of this study was to investigate the reporting rate and completeness of sports trainers' injury records and agreement between sports trainers' and players' reports of injury in community Australian football. Throughout the football season, one sports trainer from each of four clubs recorded players' injuries. To validate these data, we collected self-reported injury data from players via short message service (SMS). In total, 210 discrete injuries were recorded for 139 players, 21% by sports trainers only, 59% by players via SMS only, and 21% by both. Completeness of injury records ranged from 95% to 100%. Agreement between sports trainers and players ranged from K=0.32 (95% confidence interval: 0.27, 0.37) for date of return to football to K=1.00 for activity when injured. Injury data collected by sports trainers may be of adequate quality for providing an understanding of the profile of injuries. However, data are likely to underestimate injury rates and should be interpreted with caution. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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.