injuries in netball
... 0 Introduction Netball is a sport that has a huge participation base across the world, it is estimated to be played by two million active participants worldwide (Steele, 1993). Statistics from the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) show it is particularly popular in the Commonwealth, Australia (330,000 registered participants) New Zealand (120,000 registered participants) and England. According to the All England Netball Association (AENA) netball is one of the most popular female sports in England, currently played by 55,000 affiliated players. ... Add paragraph bout how next paragraph has shown to cause injuries. The nature of the game requires players going from a sprint to a sudden stop; Steele (1993) describes there are frequent bursts of acceleration to receive a pass, which is often proceeded by rapid deceleration because of the netball footwork rules and regularly jumping with high landing forces. Previous research has concluded the most frequent injuries in netball are at the ankles, normally lateral sprains with knees predominantly suffering the most serious of injuries. ... Sport injuries are one of the most common and problematic injuries in England. As Pakkari, Kujala, and Kannus illustrate “treating sport injuries is often difficult, expensive and time consuming” (2001, p. ... (1995a) revealed that knee and ankle injuries in sport accounted for 31%, $125 million, of all direct injury costs in Australia and approximately $1 billion worldwide per year. There has been limited research conducted concerning injuries in netball, throughout the world. ... Although this helps understand reasons for injury in netball, and has even gone as far as to implement and assess injury prevention programs, there are many styles of play across the globe; therefore what causes injuries in Australia and New Zealand may differ in other countries. REF The Singapore and Welsh netball websites comment on the different styles of play their teams were exposed to at the 2003 World Championships. ... Therefore it is essential that injury surveys be conducted in every country where netball is played. According to Sport and Recreation Victoria (2000), netball in Australia ranks 7th for adults and 8th for children, in terms of sport related injuries presented at hospital accident and emergency departments, compared to other sports (p. ... Jones & Taggart’s (1994) study in England, showed that in comparison to other sports, netball injury rated second only to football. Egger, 1990, cited in Hopper & Elliott, (1993) reported that netball had the highest proportion of injuries compared with other sports in Australia, including different football codes, basketball and hockey. Hume & Marshall (1994) established that netball is a sport with a high incidence of injury; Hume’s 1993 study revealed, more than a quarter of all sports injuries at the Dunedin Sports Injury Clinic during 1988 and Jan-Aug 1992 were due to netball. ... If it can be established as to where and why the majority of common or serious injuries occur, it is then possible to implement strategies to prevent these injuries occurring. ... By reviewing the current literature and research regarding netball injuries and critically analysing the methodologies used, areas for future research to aid with the reduction of injuries in netball can be identified. ... 0 Injury Studies It has been well documented (Pakkari, Kujala & Kannus, 2001: Hopper, Hopper & Elliott, 1995; Weil, Moore, Kratzer & Turner, 1979; Hopper & Elliott, 1993; Schenectady Regional Orthopaedics, 2003; Khan & Bruker, 1998; Rothman Institute 2003; ACC, 2003) that sports injuries are fast becoming the most common injuries in western society. These injuries can often be expensive and difficult to treat, leaving the athlete permanently weakened “injury which is inadequately rehabilitated may present with persistent pain and loss of function” (Khan et al, 1998, p. ... Many studies have been conducted to assess the volume of injuries achieved through sport. Research showing injuries in all sports and then comparisons to netball; lack of netball specific surveys. Rochester’s’ (1989b) study highlighted netball as an injury prone sport “there was, once again, a high incidence of injury at this event” (p. ... 1 Injury Site and Type Table 1 is a collection of data from previous studies researching injuries sustained due to netball. This table highlights the vast proportion of surveys showing the ankle as the site where the majority of injuries occur, (O’Connor, 1979, Hopper, 1986, Rochester, 1989a, Rochester, 1989b, Hopper, Hopper & Elliott, 1995, Hopper, Elliott & Lalor, 1995, McKay, Payne, Goldie, Oakes & Stanley, 1996, Horne, 2003). ... (1995b) found that by observation of 72 players 59% of injuries were those of the ankle. Rochester (1989b) also found at the 1989 Inter County tournament “the main site of injury was at the ankle and foot, with very few spinal, upper limb or muscle injuries” (p. ... The study revealed the ankle and foot to be responsible for over half of all injuries made, 53. ... 7 % of the traumatic injuries sustained during the study and it is suggested, prevention and care of these injuries require serious consideration. According to the Rothman Institute the ankle is the most common site for sports injuries to occur. However there has been little research conducted about these injuries in netball. ... (1995b) calculated 67% of ankle injuries were diagnosed as lateral ligament sprains. ... Not often injured is… Table 1: Results of Injury Sites from Previous Netball Research, in Chronological order Studies Site, % of injuries Injury incidence rate, % Head & neck Shoulder & upper limb Torso Back Hip & thigh Hand, wrist & fingers Calf & shin Knee Ankle Foot Muscle O’Connor, 1979 3 8 - 6 3 18 3 12 24 12 - - Hopper, 1986 - - - - - 13. ... 2 Injuries per Player Statistics for injuries per player have not been included in all studies and there are varying results. ... (1995b) states, “the direct probability of a netball players’ risk estimate was 0.054 per person per match which implied that netball was a relatively safe game” (p. ... ’s research comparing injuries in several sports established “the injury incidence rate was greatest for football, similar for field hockey and basketball, and lowest for netball” (2000, p. ... 3 Injury Severity Journal on injury compared to other sports, severe injuries? “Most injuries were of moderate (58%, n = 598) or minor (40%, n = 412) severity, with only 3% (n = 24) requiring emergency department treatment or a hospital stay” (Stevenson, Hamer, Finch, Elliot, & Kresnow, p.