Nontraumatic Exertional Fatalities in Football Players, Part 2: Excess in Conditioning Kills.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of nontraumatic fatalities in high school (HS) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football players has continued at a constant rate since the 1960s. PURPOSE: To describe the causes of nontraumatic fatalities in HS and NCAA football players and provide prevention strategies. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. METHODS: We reviewed 187 fatalities in HS and NCAA nontraumatic football players catalogued by the National Registry of Catastrophic Sports Injuries during a 20-year period between July 1998 and June 2018. RESULTS: The majority (n = 162; 86.6%) of fatalities occurred during a practice or conditioning session. Most fatalities, when timing was known, (n = 126; 70.6%) occurred outside of the regular playing season, with the highest incidence in the August preseason (n = 64; 34.2%). All documented conditioning sessions were supervised by a coach (n = 92) or strength and conditioning coach (n = 40). The exercise regimen at the time of the fatality involved high-intensity aerobic training in 94.7%. Punishment was identified as the intent in 36 fatalities. The average body mass index of the athletes was 32.6 kg/m2. For athletes who died due to exertional heat stroke, the average body mass index was 36.4 kg/m2, and 97.1% were linemen. CONCLUSION: Most nontraumatic fatalities in HS and NCAA football players occurred during coach-supervised conditioning sessions. The primary cause of exertion-related fatalities was high-intensity aerobic workouts that might have been intended as punishment and/or excess repetitions. Exertion-related fatalities are potentially preventable by applying standards in workout design, holding coaches accountable, and ensuring compliance with the athlete's health and current welfare policies.

Nontraumatic Exertional Fatalities in Football Players, Part 1: Epidemiology and Effectiveness of National Collegiate Athletic Association Bylaws.

BACKGROUND: Football has the highest number of nontraumatic fatalities of any sport in the United States. PURPOSE: To compare the incidence of nontraumatic fatalities with that of traumatic fatalities, describe the epidemiology of nontraumatic fatalities in high school (HS) and college football players, and determine the effectiveness of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) policies to reduce exertional heat stroke (EHS) and exertional sickling (ES) with sickle cell trait (SCT) fatalities in athletes. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 20 academic years (1998-2018) of HS and college nontraumatic fatalities in football players using the National Registry of Catastrophic Sports Injuries (NRCSI). EHS and ES with SCT fatality rates were compared before and after the implementation of the NCAA football out-of-season model (bylaw 17.10.2.4 [2003]) and NCAA Division I SCT screening (bylaw 17.1.5.1 [2010]), respectively. Additionally, we compiled incidence trends for HS and college traumatic and nontraumatic fatalities in football players for the years 1960 through 2018 based on NRCSI data and previously published reports. RESULTS: The risk (odds ratio) of traumatic fatalities in football players in the 2010s was 0.19 (95% CI, 0.13-0.26; P < .0001) lower in HS and 0.29 (95% CI, 0.29-0.72; P = .0078) lower in college compared with that in the 1960s. In contrast, the risk of nontraumatic fatalities in football players in the 2010s was 0.7 (95% CI, 0.50-0.98; P = .0353) in HS and 0.9 (95% CI, 0.46-1.72; P = .7413) in college compared with that in the 1960s. Since 2000, the risk of nontraumatic fatalities has been 1.89 (95% CI, 1.42-2.51; P < .001) and 4.22 (95% CI, 2.04-8.73; P < .001) higher than the risk of traumatic fatalities at the HS and college levels, respectively. During the 20 years studied, there were 187 nontraumatic fatalities (average, 9.4 per year). The causes of death were sudden cardiac arrest (57.7%), EHS (23.6%), ES with SCT (12.1%), asthma (4.9%), and hyponatremia (1.6%). The risk of a nontraumatic fatality was 4.1 (95% CI, 2.8-5.9; P < .0001) higher in NCAA compared with HS athletes. There was no difference in the risk of an EHS fatality in NCAA athletes (0.86 [95% CI, 0.17-4.25]; P = .85) after implementation in 2003 of the NCAA football out-of-season model. The risk of an ES with SCT fatality in Division I athletes was significantly lower after the 2010 NCAA SCT screening bylaw was implemented (0.12 [95% CI, 0.02-0.95]; P = .04). CONCLUSION: Since the 1960s, the risk of nontraumatic fatalities has declined minimally compared with the reduction in the risk of traumatic fatalities. Current HS and college nontraumatic fatality rates are significantly higher than rates of traumatic fatalities. The 2003 NCAA out-of-season model has failed to significantly reduce EHS fatalities. The 2010 NCAA SCT screening bylaw has effectively prevented ES with SCT fatalities in NCAA Division I football.

Fatalities in high school and college football players.

BACKGROUND: Fatalities in football are rare but tragic events. PURPOSE: The purpose was to describe the causes of fatalities in high school and college football players and potentially provide preventive strategies. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. METHODS: We reviewed the 243 football fatalities reported to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research from July 1990 through June 2010. RESULTS: Football fatalities averaged 12.2 per year, or 1 per 100,000 participants. There were 164 indirect (systemic) fatalities (average, 8.2 annually [or 0.7 per 100,000 participants]) and 79 direct (traumatic) fatalities (average, 4.0 annually [or 0.3 per 100,000 participants]). Indirect fatalities were 2.1 times more common than direct fatalities. The risk of a fatality in college compared with high school football players was 2.8 (95% CI, 0.7-8.2) times higher for all fatalities, 3.6 (95% CI, 2.5-5.3) times higher for indirect events, 1.4 (95% CI, 0.6-3.0) times higher for direct injuries, 3.8 (95% CI, 1.8-8.3) times higher for heat illness, and 66 (95% CI, 14.4-308) times higher for sickle cell trait (SCT) fatalities. Most indirect events occurred in practice sessions; preseason practices and intense conditioning sessions were vulnerable periods for athletes to develop heat illness or SCT fatalities, respectively. In contrast, most brain fatalities occurred during games. The odds of a fatality during the second decade, compared with the first decade of the study, were 9.7 (95% CI, 1.2-75.9) for SCT, 1.5 (95% CI, 0.8-2.9) for heat illness, 1.1 (95% CI, 0.8-1.7) for cardiac fatalities, and 0.7 (95% CI, 0.4-1.2) for brain fatalities. The most common causes of fatalities were cardiac failure (n = 100, 41.2%), brain injury (n = 62, 25.5%), heat illness (n = 38, 15.6%), SCT (n = 11, 4.5%), asthma and commotio cordis (n = 7 each, 2.9% each), embolism/blood clot (n = 5, 2.1%), cervical fracture (n = 4, 1.7%), and intra-abdominal injury, infection, and lightning (n = 3, 1.2% each). CONCLUSION: High school and college football have approximately 12 fatalities annually with indirect systemic causes being twice as common as direct blunt trauma. The most common causes are cardiac failure, brain injury, and heat illness. The incidence of fatalities is much higher at the college level for most injuries other than brain injuries, which were only slightly more common at the college level. The risk of SCT, heat-related, and cardiac deaths increased during the second decade of the study, indicating these conditions require a greater emphasis on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Tibiofemoral alignment: contributing factors to noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury.

BACKGROUND: The mechanisms of noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury remain undefined. The purpose of this study was to identify the tibiofemoral alignment in the lateral compartment of the knee for three variations of a one-limb landing in noncontact sports activities: the safe, provocative, and exaggerated provocative positions. These positions were chosen on the basis of a previous study that measured the average joint angles of the limb at the point of ground contact for athletes who landed without injury (safe) and those who sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury (provocative). It was hypothesized that, in the provocative positions, altered tibiofemoral alignment predisposes the knee to possible subluxation, potentially leading to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. METHODS: Magnetic resonance images were acquired for a single knee in twenty-five noninjured athletes for the three landing positions. The angle between the posterior tibial slope and the femur along with three distances (from the tibiofemoral point of contact to [1] the femoral sulcus point, [2] the posterior tibial point, and [3] the most anterior point of the circular posterior aspect of the condyle) were measured for each acquisition. RESULTS: The tibial slope relative to the femur was directed significantly more inferior to superior in the provocative and exaggerated positions than in the safe landing position. Similarly, as the limb transitioned from the safe to the provocative positions, the tibiofemoral joint contact point was significantly closer to the femoral sulcus point and to the most anterior point of the circular posterior portion of the lateral femoral condyle. CONCLUSIONS: As the limb moves toward the provocative landing position, the anatomical alignment based on slope and contact characteristics places the knee at possible risk for noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury. An enhanced understanding of the mechanism of anterior cruciate ligament injury may lead to improved preventative strategies.