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Common Musculoskeletal Injuries Sustained in an Uncommon Sport: Assessment of Injuries at the Gaelic Games North American Championships
Abstract and Figures
Most sports are recognizable, and to most orthopedists or sports medicine specialists, the mechanisms of injury and possible sequelae of such sports injuries are well researched, recognized, and understood. However, what if a patient presented with an injury that occurred while they were participating in the Gaelic Games or playing or practicing Gaelic football or hurling? Any injury resulting from such would likely be less researched, recognized, and understood. The Gaelic Games consist of competitions in Gaelic football, hurling, camogie, and handball. They are physically demanding, rugged, and contact-intense sports played, for the most part, without the benefit of protective padding. Each Gaelic sport, being a mix of other more recognized sports, can present its own set of injuries and challenges in how to diagnose, treat, and prevent them. Although the roots of the Gaelic Games are from ancient times, the Gaelic sports and competitions are growing in popularity and participation globally, among men, women, young adults, and children. The following study takes a look at the injuries that were noted and treated at the 2016 North American Gaelic games held in Seattle, Washington, USA. There is relatively little medical research on these sports, thus this study attempts to assess the incidence and types of injuries commonly sustained during such competitions so the orthopedist, sports medicine specialist, and health care provider may become more familiar with, and better diagnose and treat, such: and researchers, trainers, and coaches can better prepare their players and prevent or minimize injuries.
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Objectives
Football has the highest sports participation (10.6%) in Ireland ahead of its Gaelic counterpart (3.9%). Research into injury incidence and patterns in Irish football is non-existent. The aim of this study was to conduct a prospective injury audit of League of Ireland (semiprofessional) footballers during the 2014 season (8 months, 28 games).
Methods
A total of 140 semiprofessional League of Ireland footballers were prospectively followed between March and November 2014. Data were collected in accordance with the international consensus on football injury epidemiology.
Results
The injury rate was 9.2/1000 hour exposure to football (95% CI 6.2 to 12.9, p<0.05). Players were at a higher risk of injury during a match compared with training (23.1 (95% CI 15.2 to 31.3) vs 4.8 (95% CI 2.2 to 7.7)/1000 hours, p<0.05). Injuries were most common during non-contact activity (54.6%), mainly running (30.9%), and occurred almost three times more often in the second half (56% vs 21%, p<05). Strains (50.1%) and sprains (20.3%) were the most common injury types, and the thigh region was injured most often (28.3%).
Conclusions
The prevalence of injury in League of Ireland football is similar to that of European professional football, although the incidence of injury is higher. The incidence of injury is in line with that of Dutch amateur football.
Context:
Gaelic games (Gaelic football and hurling) are indigenous Irish sports with increasing global participation in recent years. Limited information is available on longitudinal injury trends. Reviews of insurance claims can reveal the economic burden of injury and guide cost-effective injury-prevention programs.
Objectives:
To review Gaelic games injury claims from 2007-2014 for male players to identify the costs and frequency of claims. Particular attention was devoted to lower limb injuries due to findings from previous epidemiologic investigations of Gaelic games.
Design:
Descriptive epidemiology study.
Setting:
Open-access Gaelic Athletic Association Annual Reports from 2007-2014 were reviewed to obtain annual injury-claim data.
Patients or other participants:
Gaelic Athletic Association players.
Main outcome measure(s):
Player age (youth or adult) and relationships between lower limb injury-claim rates and claim values, Gaelic football claims, hurling claims, youth claims, and adult claims.
Results:
Between 2007 and 2014, €64 733 597.00 was allocated to 58 038 claims. Registered teams had annual claim frequencies of 0.36 with average claim values of €1158.4 ± 192.81. Between 2007 and 2014, average adult claims were always greater than youth claims (6217.88 versus 1036.88), while Gaelic football claims were always greater than hurling claims (5395.38 versus 1859.38). Lower limb injuries represented 60% of all claims. The number of lower limb injury claims was significantly correlated with annual injury-claim expenses (r = 0.85, P = .01) and adult claims (r = 0.96, P = .01) but not with youth claims (r = 0.69, P = .06).
Conclusions:
Reducing lower limb injuries will likely reduce injury-claim expenses. Effective injury interventions have been validated in soccer, but whether such changes can be replicated in Gaelic games remains to be investigated. Injury-claim data should be integrated into current elite injury-surveillance databases to monitor the cost effectiveness of current programs.
The Ladies Gaelic Football Association has a playing population of 150,000 of which 33% are adults. A number of studies have been published on rates of injury among male athletes but none on female athletes in Gaelic football. A retrospective review of insurance claims, submitted under the Gaelic Athletic Association Player Insurance Injury Scheme. 405 injuries were recorded, 248 [107 (70%) male, 141 (58%) female] to the lower limb, 91 [33 (21%) male, 58 (23%) female] to the upper limb. The majority of lower limb injuries [56 (52%) male, 56 (40%) female] were to muscle. Almost a third of upper limb injuries were fractures [10 (30.3%) male, 33 (57%) female]. injuries/1000 hours playing was 8.25 for men and 2.4 for women. The injury rate in ladies Gaelic football was found to be significantly lower than in men's Gaelic football. Lower limb injuries accounted for the majority of injuries in both sports.
The purpose of this study was to undertake a comprehensive prospective epidemiological study of injuries sustained by elite Gaelic Football players over one season. The pattern of injury is strikingly similar across all teams with 47% of all injuries occurring in the final quarter of games and training. Injuries to the lower limb, particularly the hamstrings muscles accounted for the majority of injuries. 65% of players were unable to participate fully in Gaelic Football activity for between one and three weeks as a result of injury. The high incidence of injury especially hamstrings injuries in the latter stages of training and games warrants further investigation.
Background:
Metabolic power has not yet been investigated within elite Gaelic football. The aim of the current investigation was to compare the metabolic power demands between positional groups and examine the temporal profile of elite Gaelic football match play.
Methods:
Global positional satellite system (GPS) data were collected from 50 elite Gaelic football players from 4 inter-county teams during 35 elite competitive matches over a three season period. A total of 351 complete match samples were obtained for final analysis. Players were categorised based on positional groups; full-back, half-back, midfield, half- forward and full-forward. Instantaneous raw velocity data was obtained from the GPS and exported to a customised spreadsheet which provided estimations of both speed based, derived metabolic power and energy expenditure variables (total distance, high speed distance, average metabolic power, high power distance and total energy expenditure).
Results:
Match mean distance was 9222 ± 1588 m, reflective of an average metabolic power of 9.5-12.5 W∙kg-1, with an average energy expenditure of 58-70 Kj∙kg-1 depending on position. There were significant differences between positional groups for both speed-based and metabolic power indices. Midfielders covered more total and high-speed distance, as well as greater average and overall energy expenditure compared to other positions (p < 0.001). A reduction in total, high-speed, and high-power distance, as well as average metabolic power throughout the match (p < 0.001) was observed.
Conclusions:
Positional differences exist for both metabolic power and traditional running based variables. The middle three positions (midfield, half-back and half-forward) possess greater activity profiles when compared to other positional groups. The reduction in metabolic power and traditional running based variables are comparable across match play. The current study demonstrates that metabolic power may contribute to our understanding of Gaelic football match-play.
There is a lack of epidemiological research in adolescent Gaelic games, with previous research primarily focusing on elite adult males. This study aimed to prospectively capture the epidemiology of injury in male adolescent Gaelic games over one year.
Prospective cohort study.
Two hundred and ninety two (15.7±0.8 years) male adolescent Gaelic footballers and hurlers took part in a one year prospective epidemiological study. Injuries were assessed weekly by a certified Athletic Rehabilitation Therapist and an injury was defined as any injury sustained during training or competition resulting in restricted performance or time lost from play. An injury report form was utilised to standardise injury information.
Match injuries were more frequent in Gaelic footballers (9.26 per 1000h) and hurlers (11.11 per 1000h) than training injuries (2.69 and 3.01 per 1000h, respectively). Over a quarter of injuries in adolescent Gaelic footballers (26.7%) and hurlers (26.5%) were overuse in nature. Recurrent injuries were also frequent, particularly in adolescent Gaelic footballers (47.3%). Lower limb injuries predominated (football 74.7%, hurling 58%), particularly in the knee (18.7%, 20.0%) and ankle (12.0%, 10.0%). Hamstring injuries were more frequent in footballers (13.3%), with lower back injuries more common in hurlers (22.0%). Minor injuries were common in hurling (61.7%), with moderate (20.8%) and severe (37.5%) injuries predominant in Gaelic football.
Injuries are frequent in adolescent Gaelic games and this study sets the scene for the establishment of injury prevention strategies for this at risk population.
Copyright © 2015 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Gaelic football is a national sport of Ireland. While predominantly played in Ireland, it is recognized in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australasia. Its high-velocity, multidirectional, and high physical contact elements expose players to a risk of injury. To date, prospective injury data for Gaelic football has been of short duration.
To describe the incidence and nature of sport-related injuries in elite male Gaelic football players over 4 consecutive seasons.
Descriptive epidemiology study.
Over the period 2007 to 2010, a total of 851 Gaelic football players were tracked. Players were members of county-level teams who volunteered to be included in the study. Team injury, training, and match play data were submitted by the team physiotherapist on a weekly basis through a dedicated web portal to the National Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) injury database. Injury was defined using a time loss criterion, in accordance with consensus statements in sports applicable to Gaelic games.
A total of 1014 Gaelic football injuries were recorded. Incidence of injury was 4.05 per 1000 hours of football training. Match-play injury rates were 61.86 per 1000 hours. Muscle was the most frequently injured tissue (42.6%) and fractures accounted for 4.4% of Gaelic football injuries. Lower extremity injuries predominated (76.0%). Hamstring injuries were the single most common injury overall, representing almost one quarter (24%) of all injuries and over half of muscle injuries. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries accounted for 13% of knee injuries. The majority of injuries were defined as new injuries (74.7%), with recurrent injuries constituting 23% of all injuries. The majority (59%) of match play injuries occurred in the second half of the match. Eighty six percent of injuries caused over one week's absence from play.
These findings illustrate injury patterns in Gaelic football using a prospective methodology, over 4 consecutive seasons. Comparison with published literature suggests that Gaelic football match play injury risk is greater than soccer but less than rugby union.