The incidence of head/neck/orofacial injuries in non-elite Australian football

J Sci Med Sport. 2004 Dec;7(4):451-3. doi: 10.1016/s1440-2440(04)80263-9.

Abstract

Injuries to the head/neck/orofacial region are common in contact and collision sports such as Australian Football. A total of 294 players who did not wear headgear from 23 teams from a large metropolitan community football league in Victoria, Australia, were monitored for head/neck/orofacial injuries over one playing season. This short report describes the incidence of head/neck/orofacial injuries in this cohort. Overall, there were 37 head/neck/orofacial injuries reported at a rate of 2.6 injuries/1000 participation hours. Over 70% of these were the result of being struck by another player through inadvertent contact during competitive play. Facial lacerations were most common (0.97/1000 player hours), followed by concussion (0.49/1000 player hours). Nine of the cases were referred to hospital for further treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Athletic Injuries / epidemiology*
  • Causality
  • Cohort Studies
  • Facial Injuries / epidemiology*
  • Football / injuries*
  • Head Injuries, Closed / epidemiology*
  • Head Protective Devices / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Lacerations / epidemiology
  • Male
  • Neck Injuries / epidemiology*
  • Sports Equipment / statistics & numerical data
  • Victoria / epidemiology