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Updated: Mar 27, 2026
A Multi-Modal Approach to Assessing Recovery in Youth Athletes Following Concussion
Published on: September 25, 2014
Injury characteristics, mechanisms, and game circumstances in junior community-level Australian football
Indianna L Franke1,2, Andrea B Mosler1,2, Brooke E Patterson1,2
1La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Australia.
Objective:
Describe the injury characteristics, game circumstances, and immediate action and management of injuries sustained by boys and girls participating in junior community Australian football.
Design:
Cohort Study.
Methods:
All community junior Australian football players from one Victorian-based league were eligible to participate if they were injured during a game and presented to the gameday first aid medics. Injured players were subsequently followed up with a phone call to undertake an injury surveillance survey. The injury surveillance survey gathered information relating to the injury characteristics, game circumstances and management undertaken. Additionally, all players who sustained a head impact were asked about the presence or absence of concussion-related symptoms.
Results:
439 players sustained an injury in the 2022 season, with 354 (80.6 %) participating in the survey. The head was the most frequently reported injured body region (n = 194, 54.8 %), with approximately half (n = 101) being a diagnosed or suspected sports-related concussion. The next three most frequently reported body regions were the ankle (n = 29, 8.2 %), knee (n = 24, 6.8 %), and shoulder (n = 20, 5.6 %). Almost all injuries were acute onset (n = 340, 96.0 %) and resulted from a contact-based mechanism (94.9 %, n = 222 direct contact, n = 114 indirect contact). Tackling was the most frequently reported game circumstance resulting in an injury (n = 160, 45.2 %).
Conclusion:
The head was the most frequently reported injured body region, with approximately one in every two reported head impacts resulting in a diagnosed/suspected sports-related concussion. Injury prevention strategies that promote safety when tackling and being tackled may reduce the frequency of injury, warranting further investigation.
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