A prospective cohort study of the incidence of injuries among junior Australian football players: evidence for an effect of playing-age level

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate of injury in junior Australian football, and to describe the patterns and severity of these injuries across nine levels of play (U9 to U18). DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Junior Australian football games and training sessions were observed for 54 teams from New South Wales and Victoria over the 2004 playing season. PARTICIPANTS: Six teams from each level of play were invited to participate in the study. Overall, data were collected for 51 teams over 40 208 hours of player exposure. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES: Participation and injury data were collected prospectively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Injury was defined as "any trauma that causes some disability..