• Cricket

Australian cricket has a long and glorious history in the sport, but on-field success is currently at an all-time low. Despite that current embarrassment, this BJSM member society, Sports Doctors Australia (SDrA), highlights four cricket papers. Injury surveillance is so important that on-field failure is overlooked for the greater good of clinical education!

If you are working with any team where injury surveillance may be useful, please read Dr John Orchard's editorial which details three key elements to take into account of in injury surveillance see page 605. Also in this issue, former England cricket physiotherapist, Dr Craig Ranson, shares the first multicountry injury data from the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011 see page 637. This paper gives a great review of the injury rate at elite-level cricket. The paper by Prof David Mann discusses the risk of eye injury to wicketkeepers see page 607. This thought-provoking article beckons the use of preventive eye wear. In a similar vein, Dr Craig Ranson uses video analysis to highlight that helmets do not prevent all head injuries see page 644; can changes in helmet design further reduce the risk of face and head injury? These last two articles illustrate injury surveillance moving logically into preventative change.

Many papers in this issue of BJSM add to our understanding and evidence base for clinical skills development. It is also of great importance to improve our understanding of the effects of exercise on the not-so-athletic people. It is with this aim that Kristian Thorborg shares the evolving knowledge base in hip and groin injury management see page 602. Sonia Branci, also from the Copenhagen group, reviews the radiological findings in athletic pubic symphysis and adductor-related groin pain see page 611. Alas, the subject of groin pain in athletes highlights an area where clinical expertise is recognised, but the evidence base seems small. The last in the ‘clinical skills’ part of this edition is a well-written and helpful article by Dr Angela Fearon see page 649. This article concerning the clinical evaluation of lateral hip pain is a great little ‘pearl’ for the primary care sports doctor. The systematic review by Amy D Sman, on the diagnostic accuracy of clinical tests for assessing ankle syndesmotic injury see page 620, confirms the clinically difficult nature of assessing this injury.

I chose two further articles for their relevance to the primary care sports doctor. The first, by Ruben Barakat see page 630, adds significant support for the concept that regular exercise during pregnancy improves a range of metrics surrounding gestational diabetes. The second article, by Christopher Fowell see page 654, is a very welcome case series that can be used to help guide return to sport after facial fractures.