A 6 month prospective study of injury in Gaelic football

Fiona Wilson ^1*, Seamus Caffrey ¹, Enda King ¹, Karl Casey ¹ and Conor Gissane ²

¹ Trinity College Dublin, Eire
² Dept of Human sciences, St Mary's college, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, United Kingdom

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wilsonf{at}tcd.ie.

Accepted 8 November 2006

Abstract

Objective: To describe the injury incidence in Gaelic football.

Methods: A total of 83 players from 3 counties were interviewed monthly about their injury experience, during the 6 months of the playing season.

Results: The injury rate per 1000 hours exposure to Gaelic Football was 13.5 injuries / 1000 hours (95% CI 10.9 to 16.6). There were nearly twice as many injuries during matches (64.4%, 95% CI 54.1 to 73.6) compared to training (35.6%, 95% CI 26.4 to 49.5). The ankle was found to be the most commonly injures site (13.3%, 95% CI 7.8 to 21.9). The musculotendinous unit accounts for nearly 1/3 of all injuries (31.1%). The tackle accounted for 27.8% of the injuries sustained (tackler 10%, 95% CI 5.4 to 17.9; player being tackled 17.9%, 95% CI 11.2 to 26.9). Of total match injuries, 56.9% (95% CI 46.1 to 67.1) were experienced in the second half as opposed to 39.7% (95% CI 29.8 to 50.5) in the first half.

Conclusions: Gaelic Footballers are under considerable risk of injury. Greater efforts must be made to reduce this risk so that players miss less time from sport due to injury. Risk factors for injury in Gaelic Football must now be investigated so that specific interventions may be established to reduce them.

Key Words: Gaelic football, football, football injury

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