Concussion incidence and mechanisms differ between elite females and males in Australian Football

Concussion incidence and mechanisms differ between elite females and males in Australian Football

To investigate the incidence and the game circumstances of concussion in the professional female (AFLW) and male (AFL) competitions of Australian Football, to identify potential targets for risk reduction. Retrospective cohort. Concussion data were obtained from the AFL injury database, which includ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of science and medicine in sport Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 214 - 219
Main Authors: Sunderland, Patrick J., Davis, Gavin A., Hearps, Stephen J.C., Anderson, Hamish H., Gastin, Tom J., Green, Brady D., Makdissi, Michael
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Australia Elsevier Ltd 01-04-2024
Elsevier Limited
Subjects:
Athletes
Australian Football
Concussion
Females
Head injuries
Headgear
Ice hockey
Incidence
Injury prevention
Kappa coefficient
Males
Mechanism
Rugby
Soccer
Sports injuries
Surveillance
Trauma
Australian Football
Concussion
Mechanism
Incidence
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Summary:To investigate the incidence and the game circumstances of concussion in the professional female (AFLW) and male (AFL) competitions of Australian Football, to identify potential targets for risk reduction. Retrospective cohort. Concussion data were obtained from the AFL injury database, which included all concussions sustained by AFL (Male) players from 2015 to 18 and AFLW (Female) players from 2017 to 19. Concussions were diagnosed by experienced clinicians utilising standardised concussion assessment tools and injury definitions, as well as video review. Video footage was analysed to determine the circumstances each concussion occurred, which included the action and the contact-point of impact. The incidence of concussion was higher in the AFLW (Female) compared to the AFL (Male) (IRR = 2.12, 95 %CI 1.54 to 2.92). Video footage was available for 194/252 (77 %) concussions in the AFL and 35/44 (80 %) concussions in the AFLW. Male players were most frequently concussed during marking contests (28 %) with primary impact from the upper limb (22 %) or the shoulder (19 %). Conversely, being bumped (23 %) or tackled (20 %) were the main actions associated with concussion in female players, with the head (29 %) or the ground (23 %) the most common contact-points of impact. In elite Australian Football a higher incidence of concussion was demonstrated in female compared to male players. The mechanisms associated with concussion were also found to differ between male and female competitions, suggesting that different injury prevention interventions may be beneficial. In particular, a review of tackling and bumping skills training and education in the AFLW may reduce the risk of concussion.
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ISSN:1440-2440
1878-1861
DOI:10.1016/j.jsams.2023.12.003