Table 2.
Injury incidence comparison of northern AFL teams to southern AFL teams from 1999–2012, inclusive
| Body area | Injury category | Injury incidence
|
RR
|
95% CI
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern warmer
|
Southern cooler
|
N:S (warm:cool) | Low | High | ||
| Csa, Cfa | Cfb | |||||
| Head/neck | Concussion | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.24 | 0.89 | 1.71 |
| Facial fractures | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.16 | 0.82 | 1.65 | |
| Neck sprains | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.03 | 0.51 | 2.07 | |
| Other head and neck injuries | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.09 | 0.60 | 2.00 | |
| All head/neck | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.17 | 0.95 | 1.45 | |
| Shoulder/arm/elbow | Shoulder sprains and dislocations | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.96 | 0.77 | 1.20 |
| AC joint injuries | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.93 | 0.71 | 1.24 | |
| Fractured clavicles | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.20 | 0.75 | 1.91 | |
| Elbow sprains or joint injuries | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.01 | 0.54 | 1.90 | |
| Other shoulder/arm/elbow injuries | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.93 | 0.63 | 1.39 | |
| All shoulder/arm/elbow | 2.9 | 2.9 | 0.97 | 0.84 | 1.13 | |
| Forearm/wrist/hand | Forearm/wrist/hand fractures | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.86 | 0.68 | 1.10 |
| Other hand/forearm/wrist injuries | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.95 | 0.65 | 1.40 | |
| All forearm/wrist hand | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.89 | 0.72 | 1.09 | |
| Trunk/back | Rib and chest wall injuries | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.91 | 0.66 | 1.25 |
| Lumbar and thoracic spine injuries | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.19 | 0.98 | 1.46 | |
| Other buttock/back/trunk injuries | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.15 | 0.84 | 1.58 | |
| All trunk/back | 2.9 | 2.6 | 1.11 | 0.96 | 1.29 | |
| Hip/groin/thigh | Groin strains and osteitis pubis | 3.4 | 3.2 | 1.09 | 0.95 | 1.24 |
| Hamstring strains | 6.0 | 5.9 | 1.02 | 0.92 | 1.13 | |
| Quadriceps strains | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.32 | 1.10 | 1.58* | |
| Thigh and hip hematomas | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.91 | 0.69 | 1.20 | |
| Other hip/groin/thigh injuries | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.88 | 0.63 | 1.23 | |
| All hip/groin/thigh | 12.9 | 12.1 | 1.06 | 0.99 | 1.14 | |
| Knee | ACL | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.09 | 0.82 | 1.46 |
| MCL | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.20 | 0.94 | 1.54 | |
| PCL | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.70 | 0.48 | 1.04 | |
| Knee cartilage | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.42 | 1.16 | 1.74* | |
| Patella injuries | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.77 | 0.46 | 1.30 | |
| Knee and patella tendon injuries | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.17 | 0.85 | 1.62 | |
| Other knee injuries | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.33 | 1.01 | 1.76* | |
| All knee | 5.7 | 4.8 | 1.18 | 1.06 | 1.31* | |
| Shin/ankle/foot | Ankle sprains or joint injuries | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.17 | 1.00 | 1.37* |
| Calf strains | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.06 | 0.88 | 1.28 | |
| Achilles tendon injuries | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.70 | 0.47 | 1.03 | |
| Leg and foot fractures | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.92 | 0.68 | 1.25 | |
| Leg and foot stress fractures | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.85 | 0.66 | 1.09 | |
| Other leg/foot/ankle injuries | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.96 | 0.79 | 1.18 | |
| All leg/foot/ankle | 8.0 | 7.9 | 1.01 | 0.92 | 1.10 | |
| Medical illness | Medical illnesses | 2.2 | 1.9 | 1.15 | 0.97 | 1.37 |
| All injuries | All injuries | 37.4 | 35.6 | 1.05 | 1.01 | 1.10* |
Notes:
*
Signifies P<0.05 difference. Cfa – Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney. Cfb – Melbourne, Geelong, Launceston. Csa – Adelaide, Perth.
Abbreviations: AC, acromioclavicular joint; ACL, anterior cruciate ligament; AFL, Australian Football League; Cfa, Humid Subtropical; Cfb, Maritime Temperate; CI, confidence interval; Csa, Mediterranean; MCL, medial collateral ligament; PCL, posterior cruciate ligament; RR, relative risk; N, north; S, south.