Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28825878›Full record

ReviewSports health

Injuries in Australian Rules Football: An Overview of Injury Rates, Patterns, and Mechanisms Across All Levels of Play.

Richard Saw, Caroline F Finch, David Samra, Peter Baquie, Tanusha Cardoso, Danielle Hope, John W Orchard

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
6.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.

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  7. Gender/Sex Entanglement, Structural Sexism, and Injury: The Case of Australian Rules Football.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Richard SawOlympic Park Sports Medicine Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Caroline F FinchAustralian Collaboration for Research into Injury in Sport and Its Prevention, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
David SamraThe Stadium Sports Medicine Clinic, Sydney, New South Walesm Australia.
Peter BaquieOlympic Park Sports Medicine Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Tanusha CardosoAlphington Sports Medicine Clinic, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Danielle HopePeak Sports Medicine Clinic, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
John W OrchardSchool of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre · AUFederation University · AUSports Medicine Australia · AUUniversity of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextThe nature of Australian rules football (Australian football) predisposes both unique and common injuries compared with those sustained in other football codes. The game involves a combination of tackling, kicking, high-speed running (more than other football codes), and jumping. Two decades of injury surveillance has identified common injuries at the professional level (Australian Football League [AFL]).

objectiveTo provide an overview of injuries in Australian rules football, including injury rates, patterns, and mechanisms across all levels of play. STUDY

designA narrative review of AFL injuries, football injury epidemiology, and biomechanical and physiological attributes of relevant injuries.

resultsThe overall injury incidence in the 2015 season was 41.7 injuries per club per season, with a prevalence of 156.2 missed games per club per season. Lower limb injuries are most prevalent, with hamstring strains accounting for 19.1 missed games per club per season. Hamstring strains relate to the volume of high-speed running required in addition to at times having to collect the ball while running in a position of hip flexion and knee extension. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are also prevalent and can result from contact and noncontact incidents. In the upper limb, shoulder sprains and dislocations account for 11.5 missed games per club per season and largely resulted from tackling and contact. Concussion is less common in AFL than other tackling sports but remains an important injury, which has notably become more prevalent in recent years, theorized to be due to a more conservative approach to management. Although there are less injury surveillance data for non-AFL players (women, community-level, children), many of these injuries appear to also be common across all levels of play. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: An understanding of injury profiles and mechanisms in Australian football is crucial in identifying methods to reduce injury risk and prepare players for the demands of the game.

Indexed as

Athletic InjuriesAustraliaBrain ConcussionHumansIncidenceLower ExtremityPrevalenceSoccerUpper ExtremityAFLinjury preventioninjury surveillance

Identifiers

PMID28825878
PMCPMC5958447
OpenAlexW2746482283

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.