Overall Risk Of Injury Research Articles

No Increased Injury Risk on Artificial Turf in Finnish Premier Division Football.

To compare the injury risk between natural grass and artificial turf in the male Finnish premier division (Veikkausliiga) matches during the 2019 league season. A retrospective reanalysis of prospectively collected season-long injury surveillance cohort study. Finnish elite-level male football. All 12 teams of Veikkausliiga participated in the study. All players were eligible to participate. Two hundred thirty-six players took part in the follow-up between February and November 2019. Matches were played between April and November 2019. Injury data were collected using standard injury reports from the team medicals and weekly player questionnaires. Individual player exposure in matches was collected. Artificial turf was classified as exposure and natural grass as control in the analyses. Match-related injury incidence and incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) on natural grass and artificial turf. A total of 113 injuries (65 on artificial turf, 48 on natural grass) in 167 matches (90 on artificial turf, 77 on natural grass) were included. Injury incidence was 27.2/1000 hours on artificial turf and 23.9/1000 hours on natural grass and (IRR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.8-1.7). There was no difference in injury types, anatomical regions, injury recurrence, injury severity, or injury contact. Forwards may have had an increased injury incidence on artificial turf compared with natural grass (IRR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.0-11.8). This study supports previous reports that there is no significant increase in the overall risk of injury in professional football played on artificial turf compared with that on natural grass.

Descriptive Epidemiology of Game-Related Youth Flag Football Injuries.

Flag football is promoted as a safer alternative to tackle football. This may be 1 reason why participation rates have risen by 39% over the past 3 years. Despite rising participation, epidemiologic research on sport-specific injuries and associated relative risk is lacking. To prospectively document the epidemiology of injuries in youth flag football. Descriptive epidemiology study. Regional and national youth flag football tournaments. Athletes (N = 1939; 1744 boys and 195 girls), ages 6 to 12 years. An athletic trainer prospectively monitored the athletes for sport-related injury and exposures. Athlete risks of injury and injury rates were calculated overall and by sex. Injury characteristics were reported for the total population and by sex. Forty-seven injuries to unique individuals were recorded in 1939 athletes with a total of 9228 athlete-exposures (AEs). The overall risk of injury was 2.4% (95% CI = 1.79%, 3.21%), with an overall injury rate of 5.1 per 1000 AEs (95% CI = 3.75, 6.77). Of the 47 injuries, 36 occurred in boys (8365 AEs), and 11 occurred in girls (863 AEs). A higher risk in girls was evidenced by both the injury risk ratio (2.73; 95% CI = 1.41, 5.30) and injury rate ratio of 2.96 (95% CI = 1.51, 5.82). The most common injury sites were the head/face/neck (n = 15, 31.9%), followed by the ankle/foot (n = 9, 19.1%). The most frequent types of injury were contusion (55.3%), sprain/subluxation (14.9%), and general trauma (10.6%); 74.5% of all injuries resulted from direct impact. Although the competition injury rate for youth flag football was lower than the values from studies reporting comparable tackle football data, the frequencies by body part, type, and mechanism were similar. Given that most injuries were related to some form of impact and predominantly contusions, adopting minimal protective equipment or padding may reduce the numbers of these injuries.

Cervical Collar Clearance in Obtunded Children Presenting Without a Known Traumatic Mechanism: Is Imaging Necessary?

BackgroundObtunded pediatric patients are often placed in cervical collars (c-collars) to protect their cervical spine (c-spine) while injury is being ruled out, even without a known traumatic injury. The goal of this study was to determine the necessity of c-collars in this population by determining the rate of c-spine injury among patients with suspected non-traumatic mechanisms of loss of consciousness. MethodsA single institution, ten-year retrospective chart review was conducted including all obtunded patients admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit without a known traumatic event. Patients were categorized into five groups based on etiology of obtundation: respiratory, cardiac, medical/metabolic, neurologic, and other. Comparisons were made between those placed in a c-collar and a control group who were not, using Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous measures, and Chi-square or Fisher's exact test for categorical measures. Results464 patients were included, of which 39 (8.41%) were placed in a c-collar. There was a significant difference in whether a patient was placed in a c-collar based on diagnosis category (p < 0.001). Those placed in a-c-collar were more likely to undergo imaging studies than the control group (p < 0.001). The overall incidence of c-spine injury in this patient population in our study was zero. ConclusionCervical collar placement and radiographic evaluation is not necessary in obtunded pediatric patients who present without a known traumatic mechanism as the overall risk of injury is low. Consideration for collar placement should be given in cases when trauma cannot be definitively ruled out at initial evaluation. Levels of evidenceIII.

A reappraisal of injuries and accidents in people with epilepsy.

We review data on injuries and traffic accidents affecting people with epilepsy with emphasis on the overall risk of injuries, specific types of injuries, and risk factors. Population-based studies of incident epilepsy cohorts indicate that the risk of physical injuries in people with epilepsy in general is increased only modestly. The risk is higher in selected populations that attend epilepsy clinics or referral centers. Soft tissue injuries, dislocations, and fractures are the most common injures, whereas the greatest increase in risk is reported for more uncommon injuries such as drowning. People with epilepsy are at a two-fold to four-fold increased risk for fatal injuries. Comorbidities contribute to fatal as well as nonfatal injuries. The other major risk factor is poorly controlled major convulsive seizures (generalized as well as focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures). Serious transport accidents associated with increased risks for people with epilepsy include pedestrian, bicycle, as well as car accidents. Individualized information on the risk of physical injuries and accidents should be part of counseling of patients with epilepsy. Improved seizure control is likely the most effective way to reduce risks, but work place and home adjustments should also be considered.

Analysis of 4 Years of Injury in Professional Rodeo.

To analyze injury frequency, density, location, type, mechanism of injury (MOI), activity phase of injury, and injury risk in professional rodeo. Retrospective epidemiological review. Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctioned rodeos from 2011 to 2014. Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association competitors competing in bull riding, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, team roping, tie-down roping, and steer wrestling. Injury reports were documented by sports medicine personnel. Variables assessed include event, frequency, density, location, type, MOI, activity phase of injury, and injury density. A total of 2305 injuries from 139,098 competitor exposures (CEs) were reported, demonstrating overall injury density of 16.6 injuries per 1000 CEs (95% confidence interval, 0.016-0.017) and overall risk of injury of 1.69%. Rough stock riders accounted for 88.7% of all injuries. Bull riders, bareback riders, and saddle bronc riders demonstrated injury densities of 48.2, 41.1, and 23.2 injuries per 1000 CEs, respectively. Most injuries (62.9%) were sustained by collisions with the ground or animal, or being stomped on by the animal. Contusions, sprains, and concussions were the most frequent injury types (23.1%, 13.6%, and 11.6%, respectively). Neurological components, knees, and shoulders were the most injured body parts (13.4%, 11.1%, and 11.0%, respectively). Most injuries (36.8%) occurred during or immediately after the dismount. Rough stock events have the greatest risk of injury in professional rodeo, whereas steer wrestling has the greatest risk of injury for timed event athletes. Medical professionals should use these findings to implement prevention programming where possible.

Job rotation and work-related musculoskeletal disorders: a fatigue-failure perspective

Job rotation is an organisational strategy that can be used, in part, to reduce occupational exposure to physical risk factors associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Recent studies, however, suggest that job rotation schedules may increase the overall risk of injury to workers included in the rotation scheme. We describe a novel optimisation framework evaluating the effectiveness of a job rotation scheme using the fatigue failure model of MSD development and a case study with real injury data. Results suggest that the effect of job rotation is highly-dependent on the composition of the job pool, and inclusion of jobs with higher risk results in a drastic decrease in the effectiveness of rotation for reducing overall worker risk. The study highlights that in cases when high-risk jobs are present, job redesign of those high risk tasks should be the primary focus of intervention efforts rather than job rotation. Practitioner summary: Job rotation is often used in industry as a method to ‘balance’ physical demands experienced by workers to reduce musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk. This article examines the efficacy of reducing MSDs through job rotation using numerical simulation of job rotation strategies and utilising the fatigue failure model of MSD development.

Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Injuries among Airport Customer Service Employees

Musculoskeletal pain and discomfort are common among baggage handlers and airport customer service agents, yet little has been done to understand and address their frequent exposure to ergonomic risks when handling customer baggage. The objective of this study is to assess various areas of airport customer service (ACS) to identify the areas with high risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Subjective surveys and objective assessment tools were used to assess the physical workloads of 377 airport employees. Findings showed that ramp agents experienced higher workload and musculoskeletal injury risks. The overall workload for ALAs (Aircraft Loading Agents) is reported to be 4.3 to 11.1 higher than cargo, and gate and VIP club agents ( p&lt;0.05) and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) of employees showed than the REBA scores for ALAs are 3.5 to 4.8 points higher than cargo agents, customer service agents, gate agents and VIP club employees ( p&lt;0.001). To address these exposures, several interventions may reduce the overall risk of injuries and improve long-term productivity of aircraft loading/unloading agents and baggage handlers.

Falls and Cognitive Training 2 (FaCT2) study protocol: a randomised controlled trial exploring cognitive training to reduce risk of falls in at-risk older adults

BackgroundThe primary cause of traumatic injury in older adults is fall. Recent reports suggest that cognitive function contributes significantly to fall risk. Therefore, by targeting cognitive function for intervention, we...

Efectos de un programa de actividad física con el método pilates sobre la funcionalidad de mujeres embarazadas. Estudio piloto

This study aims to determine the effect of a Pilates programme on functionality in pregnant women; and to analyse its impact on childbirth. A group of 10 pregnant women developed a Pilates program for 8 weeks (2 sessions/week), overall functionality was assessed through functional tests Overhead Squat (OHS), Hurdle Step (HS), Forward Step Down (FSD), Shoulder Mobility (SM) and Active Straight Leg Raise (ASLR), as well as the type of subsequent delivery. The results show an improvement in the functionality of the Hurdle test; Forward step down and Shoulder mobility test (p<0.01), as well as a significant decrease in compensation and overall risk of injury after the physical activity programme (p<0.01). In turn, the delivery was healthier. The effects of Pilates on pregnant women offer improvements in overall functionality and a positive effect on childbirth.

Injuries in the Chinese Arena Football League: American Versus Chinese Players.

Background:Arena football is an indoor version of American football played in indoor arenas on a smaller field with 8 players per team. Only 1 study has evaluated injury rates in arena football, and no study had compared 2 distinct cohorts of players.Purpose/Hypothesis:The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare injury rates in American versus Chinese athletes in the Chinese Arena Football League. Our hypothesis was that the rate of significant injuries (≥7 days of time lost from play) would be statistically significantly higher in Chinese athletes.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.Methods:Each of the 6 teams included in this study comprised 11 American and 11 Chinese athletes, for a total of 132 included athletes (66 Chinese, 66 American). All players stayed in the same hotel, trained and played in the same facilities, and were covered by the same medical staff. A total of 18 games were played consecutively in 6 cities from October 1 to November 6, 2016. At least 4 Chinese players had to be on the field for each team at all times during game play.Results:American athletes were significantly older, taller, and heavier than Chinese athletes. The total exposure was 759 athlete-hours, and there were 80 reported injuries, with 74 (92.5%) occurring during games (overall injury rate, 105.4 injuries per 1000 athlete-hours). For American athletes, the exposure was 387 athlete-hours with 38 injuries observed, and the injury rate was 98.2 injuries per 1000 athlete-hours. For Chinese athletes, the exposure was 372 athlete-hours with 42 injuries observed, and the injury rate was 112.9 injuries per 1000 athlete-hours. There was no statistically significant difference in exposure or overall injury rate between American and Chinese athletes. The rate of significant injuries was 30.3 per 1000 athlete-hours; there were 17 such injuries in Chinese athletes compared with 6 such injuries for American athletes. The rate of significant injuries was 45.7 (Chinese) and 15.5 (American) injuries per 1000 athlete-hours, and the relative risk for Chinese versus American athletes for significant injuries was 3.0 (95% CI, 1.2-7.8; P = .019) . Binary logistic regression models were utilized to analyze whether the baseline variables (height, weight, body mass index, age, years of experience, and nationality) were potential predictors for an injury, and only years of experience (odds ratio, 1.147 [95% CI, 1.034-1.271]; P = .009) was found to be associated with severe injuries (>21 days of time loss).Conclusion:The overall risk of injuries was similar between Chinese and American athletes, but Chinese athletes showed statistically higher rates of significant injuries than their American counterparts. Years of experience was the only factor that was associated with severe injuries. As professional sports become more global, medical personnel must take into account the distinct differences and levels of experience between the national and international professional athletes. The results of this study will be used to make recommendations to develop preventive training measures, including techniques to improve tackling.

Injuries in the Schoolyard: An Analysis of Individual and Contextual Factors

Injuries of children and adolescents rank among the most immediate problems in public health in Germany. Alongside accidents in the household and during leisure time, the school is of great importance. However, there are significant gaps in knowledge about the causes of school injuries. This is the starting point of this article, which analyses individual and contextual factors that influence the occurrence of injuries in schools and deals explicitly with injuries happening in the schoolyard. The data foundation is the second wave of the panel study "Gesundheitsverhalten und Unfallgeschehen im Schulalter" (Health Behavior and Occurrence of Accidents at School Age) (GUS). Following a random sampling of secondary general education schools in 11 German states, 10089 pupils aged 11-13 years from 138 schools were surveyed within their respective classes via a standardized electronic questionnaire. Alongside accidents and injuries, the questionnaire covers a wide range of topics including health and recreational behavior and also surveys information about the schools. The factors influencing schoolyard accidents are analyzed using multivariate, logistic multilevel-models. In the second wave, 5.8% of the pupils reported at least one injury happening in the schoolyard in the last 12 months that had to be treated by a doctor. Correlations with these schoolyard accidents were found for individual factors such as gender (female, OR=0.53), experiences of bullying (OR=1.68), sleeping problems (OR=1.07) and individual athletic activity (OR=1.03). Although the variance is primarily tied to the individual level, certain contextual variables also proved influential: Schools, in which the overall condition is rated better by the pupils, also have a lower overall risk of injuries (OR=0.60). According to these results, preventive measures may target the individual as well as the contextual level: prevention of bullying should be a focus in the light of these findings, but at the same time, also the condition of the schools should be taken into consideration.

INJURIES IN GERMAN MEŃS PROFESSIONAL ICE HOCKEY

BackgroundInjury incidences during international major ice hockey events are high, but information about ice hockey injuries in Germany, particularly in regular league play, is lacking.ObjectiveAnalysis of injury characteristics in German...

EVALUATING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS AND FIFA 11+ IMPLEMENTATION INTENTION IN YOUTH SOCCER COACHES

BackgroundThe FIFA 11+ program is efficacious in preventing lower extremity injuries in youth soccer players; however, its implementation remains a challenge. Coaches' beliefs and actions regarding injury prevention may influence...

INJURIES IN MEN'S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

BackgroundThe first step on the way to developing preventive measures is the description of epidemiology within the target group. This is not known for German Men's Professional Football so far.ObjectiveAnalysis...

Automated Assessment of Dynamic Knee Valgus and Risk of Knee Injury During the Single Leg Squat.

Many clinical assessment protocols of the lower limb rely on the evaluation of functional movement tests such as the single leg squat (SLS), which are often assessed visually. Visual assessment is subjective and depends on the experience of the clinician. In this paper, an inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based method for automated assessment of squat quality is proposed to provide clinicians with a quantitative measure of SLS performance. A set of three IMUs was used to estimate the joint angles, velocities, and accelerations of the squatting leg. Statistical time domain features were generated from these measurements. The most informative features were used for classifier training. A data set of SLS performed by healthy participants was collected and labeled by three expert clinical raters using two different labeling criteria: “observed amount of knee valgus” and “overall risk of injury”. The results showed that both flexion at the hip and knee, as well as hip and ankle internal rotation are discriminative features, and that participants with “poor” squats bend the hip and knee less than those with better squat performance. Furthermore, improved classification performance is achieved for females by training separate classifiers stratified by gender. Classification results showed excellent accuracy, 95.7 % for classifying squat quality as “poor” or “good” and 94.6% for differentiating between high and no risk of injury.

The association between maternal age at first delivery and risk of obstetric trauma

There are a number of poor birth outcomes with advancing maternal age. Although there is some evidence of a higher risk of trauma to obstetric anal sphincter and the levator ani muscle with advancing age, findings to date are inconclusive. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of pelvic floor injury using translabial 3- and 4-dimensional ultrasound relative to advancing maternal age in primiparous women after a singleton vaginal delivery at term and to determine any association between maternal age and obstetric trauma, including obstetric anal sphincter injuries, levator avulsion, and irreversible overdistension of the levator hiatus. This is a subanalysis of a perinatal intervention trial conducted in a specialist urogynecology referral unit at 2 tertiary units. All primiparous women with singleton birth at term underwent 3- and 4-dimensional translabial pelvic floor ultrasound both ante- and postnatally for the assessment of the obstetric trauma including levator ani muscle avulsion, hiatal overdistension to 25 cm(2) or more, and obstetric anal sphincter injuries. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between maternal age and obstetric trauma diagnosed on 3- and 4-dimensional translabial ultrasound. Multiple confounders were included, and the most significant (forceps and vacuum delivery) were used for probability modeling. Of 660 women recruited for the original study, a total of 375 women who had a vaginal delivery with complete data sets were analyzed. A total of 174 women (46.4%) showed evidence of at least 1 form of major pelvic floor trauma. Advancing maternal age at first delivery carries with it a significant incremental risk of major pelvic floor trauma with an odds ratio of 1.064 for overall risk of injury for each increasing year of age past age 18 years (P= .003). The probability of any type of trauma appears to besubstantially higher for forceps delivery. Vacuum delivery appears to increase the risk of obstetric anal sphincter injuries but not of levator avulsion. There is a significant association between the risk of major pelvic floor injury and increasing maternal age at first delivery.

A Comparison between Australian Football League (AFL) Injuries in Australian Indigenous versus Non-indigenous Players

It has previously been shown that being of aboriginal descent is a risk factor for hamstring injuries in Australian football. The aim of this study was to review the Australian Football League (AFL) injury database to determine whether there were any injuries where indigenous players had different relative risks to non-indigenous players. Analysis was conducted using data from the AFL injury database, which included data from 4,492 players over 21 years (1992–2012), covering 162,683 player-matches at AFL level, 91,098 matches at lower levels and 328,181 weeks (possible matches) of exposure. Compared to non-indigenous players, indigenous players had a significantly higher risk of hamstring injuries (RR 1.52, 95% CI 1.32–1.73) and calf strains (RR 1.30, 95% CI 1.00–1.69). Conversely, indigenous players had a significantly lower risk of lumbar/thoracic spine injuries (RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.41–0.91), groin strains/osteitis pubis (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.58–0.96) and Achilles tendon injuries (RR 0.32, 95% CI 0.12–0.86). The results for the above injuries were also significant in terms of games missed. There was no difference between overall risk of injury (RR 1.03, 95% CI 0.96–1.10) or missed games (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.97–1.04). This suggests that indigenous AFL players have the same overall number of injuries and missed games, but a slightly different injury profile.

Hip pads reduce the overall risk of injuries in recreational snowboarders

ObjectiveThe purpose is to determine common injuries in recreational snowboarding as targets of preventive strategy and protective gear that reduces the overall risk of these injuries.MethodsThe subjects comprised 5561 injured...

Recreational helmet use as a predictor of noncranial injury

The effect of helmet use in the prevention of head injury has been clearly shown. However, the relationship between helmet compliance and other bodily (noncranial) injury has not been explored, yet may have important impact on strategies for injury prevention. The purpose of this study was to examine helmet use in an injured population to evaluate its association with noncranial trauma. All entries in the Canadian National Trauma Registry were surveyed from 2000 to 2004 and limited to injuries sustained in recreational sports associated with helmet use. Over the 5-year period, 2,205 injuries met inclusion criteria. Cycling-related injuries were most frequent (43.5%). Alcohol consumption correlated significantly with lack of helmet use. Nonhelmeted individuals suffered significantly more noncranial injuries (85% vs. 68%, p < 0.0001) and had twice as many severe head injuries (Glasgow Coma Scale score ≤ 8) (odds ratio [OR]: 2.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.35-3.37) or any abnormal Glasgow Coma Scale score (OR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.55-2.47). While controlling for age, sex, or type of sport activity performed, multivariate regression confirmed a reduction in associated noncranial injuries when helmets were used (OR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.83-0.89). Within an injured population from sports-related activities, helmet use is associated with fewer noncranial injuries of all types suggesting reduced overall risk of injury in this group. In addition, use of helmets is associated with less frequent and less severe head injury. Alcohol consumption is related to increased risk of injury and is more prevalent in injured individuals who abstain from helmet use. III, prognostic study.

Epidemiological Study of Injuries in Men's International Under-20 Rugby Union Tournaments

To determine the incidence, nature, and causes of match injuries sustained during Under-20 (U-20) international rugby. Prospective cohort study; definitions and procedures were compliant with the international consensus statement for epidemiological studies in rugby. 2008 and 2010 IRB U-20 Junior World Championships and Junior World Rugby Trophies. Nine hundred forty-one players representing 35 international teams. Injuries reported as functions of playing position and nature and cause of injury. Incidence, location, type, severity, and causes of match injuries. Incidence of injury was 57.2 per 1000 player-match-hours (forwards, 55.3; backs, 59.4) with a mean severity of 22.4 days (forwards, 27.7; backs, 16.9) and a median severity of 6 days (forwards, 8; backs, 6). Lower limb ligament (25.3%) and muscle (21.3%) pathologies were the main injuries. Most injuries were acute (90.4%) and sustained during tackles (45.1%) and collisions (17.7%). The study showed that the overall risk of injury for players in international U-20 rugby is significantly lower than that reported at the full international level of play; the nature and causes of injury at U-20 are similar to those at the full international level of play.