Injury characteristics, mechanisms, and game circumstances in junior community-level Australian football.

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.