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The prevention of injuries in contact flag football

2012; Springer Science+Business Media; Volume: 22; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/s00167-012-2335-5

1433-7347

Y. Kaplan, Grethe Myklebust, Meir Nyska, Ezequiel Palmanovich, Jan Victor, Erik Witvrouw,

Injury Epidemiology and Prevention

American flag football is a non-tackle, contact sport with many moderate to severe contact-type injuries reported. A previous prospective injury surveillance study by the authors revealed a high incidence of injuries to the fingers, face, knee, shoulder and ankle. The objectives of the study were to conduct a pilot-prospective injury prevention study in an attempt to significantly reduce the incidence and the severity of injuries as compared to a historical cohort, as well as to provide recommendations for a future prospective injury prevention study.A prospective injury prevention study was conducted involving 724 amateur male (mean age: 20.0 ± 3.1 years) and 114 female (mean age: 21.2 ± 7.2 years) players. Four prevention measures were implemented: the no-pocket rule, self-fitting mouth guards, ankle braces (for those players with recurrent ankle sprains) and an injury treatment information brochure. An injury surveillance questionnaire was administered to record all time-loss injuries sustained in game sessions.There was a statistically significant reduction in the number of injured players, the number of finger/hand injuries, the incidence rate and the incidence proportion between the two cohorts (p < 0.05).This one-season pilot prevention study has provided preliminary evidence that finger/hand injuries can be significantly reduced in flag football. Prevention strategies for a longer, prospective, randomised-controlled injury prevention study should include the strict enforcement of the no-pocket rule, appropriate head gear, the use of comfortable-fitting ankle braces and mouth guards, and changing the blocking rules of the game.