Abstract
BackgroundHamstring injuries are the most common injury in Australian Rules football. It was the aims to investigate whether a sports chiropractic manual therapy intervention protocol provided in addition to the current best practice management could prevent the occurrence of and weeks missed due to hamstring and other lower-limb injuries at the semi-elite level of Australian football.MethodsSixty male subjects were assessed for eligibility with 59 meeting entry requirements and randomly allocated to an intervention (n = 29) or control group (n = 30), being matched for age and hamstring injury history. Twenty-eight intervention and 29 control group participants completed the trial. Both groups received the current best practice medical and sports science management, which acted as the control. Additionally, the intervention group received a sports chiropractic intervention. Treatment for the intervention group was individually determined and could involve manipulation/mobilization and/or soft tissue therapies to the spine and extremity. Minimum scheduling was: 1 treatment per week for 6 weeks, 1 treatment per fortnight for 3 months, 1 treatment per month for the remainder of the season (3 months). The main outcome measure was an injury surveillance with a missed match injury definition.ResultsAfter 24 matches there was no statistical significant difference between the groups for the incidence of hamstring injury (OR:0.116, 95% CI:0.013-1.019, p = 0.051) and primary non-contact knee injury (OR:0.116, 95% CI:0.013-1.019, p = 0.051). The difference for primary lower-limb muscle strains was significant (OR:0.097, 95%CI:0.011-0.839, p = 0.025). There was no significant difference for weeks missed due to hamstring injury (4 v14, χ2:1.12, p = 0.29) and lower-limb muscle strains (4 v 21, χ2:2.66, p = 0.10). A significant difference in weeks missed due to non-contact knee injury was noted (1 v 24, χ2:6.70, p = 0.01).ConclusionsThis study demonstrated a trend towards lower limb injury prevention with a significant reduction in primary lower limb muscle strains and weeks missed due to non-contact knee injuries through the addition of a sports chiropractic intervention to the current best practice management.Trial registrationThe study was registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12608000533392).
Highlights
Hamstring injuries are the most common injury in Australian Rules football
Australian Rules football has the highest rates of non-contact soft tissue injuries when compared with other body contact football codes such as rugby league and rugby union [3], with the incidence of lower limb muscle strains at the elite national competition, the Australian Football League (AFL), being 35% per season [4]
Participants Sixty male Australian Rules football players were recruited as subjects
Summary
Hamstring injuries are the most common injury in Australian Rules football. It was the aims to investigate whether a sports chiropractic manual therapy intervention protocol provided in addition to the current best practice management could prevent the occurrence of and weeks missed due to hamstring and other lowerlimb injuries at the semi-elite level of Australian football. Australian Rules football is a unique body contact sport. It is played on a natural grass, oval shaped field, with the size varying between 135 - 185 meters in length and 110 - 155 meters in width. Physical requirements of players include: repeated rapid acceleration and deceleration efforts often involving change of direction, agility, jumping, bending to pick up the oval shaped ball, tackling and other collisions [1]. Australian Rules football has the highest rates of non-contact soft tissue injuries when compared with other body contact football codes such as rugby league and rugby union [3], with the incidence of lower limb muscle strains at the elite national competition, the Australian Football League (AFL), being 35% per season [4]
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