Table 3.

Injury-related definitions used in the study.

Term	Definition
Cervical spine injury	The loss of cervical spine range of motion with associated pain that limited the ability of a player to fully play or train after a 24h period.
Training-related cervical spine injury	An injury that prevented a player’s training activities typically planned for that day for a period of greater than 24h from midnight at the end of the day the injury was sustained.
Match-related cervical spine injury	An injury that prevented a player’s match play activities typically planned for that day for a period of greater than 24h from midnight at the end of the day the injury was sustained
Recurrent cervical spine injury	An injury of the same type and at the same site as an index injury and which occurs after a player’s return to full participation from the index injury
Cervical spine facet joint injury (Orchard Code: NJXX)	Described an injury to the zygapophyseal joint including both its ligamentous capsule, meniscus and cartilage surface.
Cervical disc prolapse (Orchard Code: NCLP)	These were divided into more serious disc injury where a frank disc bulge confirmed by radiologists may have been identified.
Cervical facet joint pain/chronic inflammation (Orchard Code: (NJPX)	Described a condition where players that had an inflamed and already degenerative cervical spine whereby poor architecture and osteophytic formation have a low threshold to mild trauma causing pain and joint hypomobility.
Cervical disc sprain (Orchard Code: NCLX)	A sprain of the disc where fissures and small tears developed from trauma in the outer layers of the annulus fibrosis.