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

Abstract

Context: The 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]).

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

Study design: A narrative review of AFL injuries, football injury epidemiology, and biomechanical and physiological attributes of relevant injuries.

Results: The 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.

Keywords: AFL; injury prevention; injury surveillance.

Figure 1.

Overview of professional men’s Australian football.

Figure 2.

Picking up a ground ball on the run results in hip flexion and knee extension (Source: Australian Football League).

Figure 3.

Wrapping up arms in a tackle can leave a player’s head unprotected (Source: Australian Football League).

Figure 4.

The “no bump zone” (Source: Australian Football League).