Gaelic games players' awareness and use of, and attitudes towards injury prevention exercise programmes.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to determine the awareness of and use of injury prevention exercise programmes (IPEPs) among adult Gaelic games players and to investigate Gaelic games players' attitudes to injury prevention and barriers and facilitators to successful IPEPs use. METHODS: A recruitment email was sent to all clubs and county boards throughout Ireland (whose email was available online) and the survey was advertised on social media platforms. Adult players completed an anonymous survey, including awareness, use, and attitudes towards injury prevention and injuries. Frequencies and descriptive statistics were conducted, a chi-squared test was used to assess any differences in awareness and use of IPEPs, a Mann-Whitney U test was used to examine differences between groups for attitudes to injury prevention (men vs women; elite vs non-elite). RESULTS: A third of players (32.4%) stated awareness of IPEPs. However, only 13.4% correctly identified one. A significantly greater number of men (35.7%) used IPEPs compared to women (26.5%) (p = 0.04). The Activate (65.5%) and GAA15 (32.5%) were most used. Players had a positive attitude towards injury prevention but agreed that injuries were an issue (68.2%) and stated that their coach didn't have enough knowledge how to use IPEPs was a large barrier (41.6%). CONCLUSION: Despite this positive attitude to injury prevention and believing injuries are an issue, adoption remains low. Organisations/clubs should educate players on the benefits of using IPEPs and support structures put in place to gain greater implementation, which is critical to mitigating the risk of injury.

Post-injury fear-avoidance and confidence in readiness to return to sport in Irish collegiate athletes.

Fear avoidance and low confidence in their ability to return to sport can impede athletes' subsequent recovery and return to sport. This study aimed to identify fear avoidance and confidence in readiness to return to sport following injury in Irish collegiate athletes. Male (416) and female (256) athletes from 24 field-sport teams at one university were prospectively followed for one season. The Athlete Fear Avoidance Questionnaire (AFAQ) and pain on the Visual Analogue Scale was completed following a time-loss injury. Prior to return to sport, participants completed the AFAQ and the Injury Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport (I-PRRS). We recorded 179 injuries. Fear avoidance was evident post-injury (21.8 ± 6.7), and the mean total I-PRRS score was 48.4 ± 8.9. Those with severe injuries presented with higher fear avoidance and lower confidence. Higher pain was associated with greater fear avoidance following injury (r = 0.32, p < 0.0001), prior to return to sport (r = 0.38, p < 0.0001), and with lower confidence (r = -0.27, p < 0.0001).   Low confidence and fear avoidance was identified, particularly in those with a severe injury or high pain levels. Identifying, and providing psychosocial support to athletes experiencing, these issues is recommended.

Injuries in Irish male and female collegiate athletes.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the incidence and burden of injury of student-athletes in four of the most popular collegiate sports. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Collegiate sport. PARTICIPANTS: Gaelic football, hurling/Camogie, soccer and Rugby (n = 672; male = 416, female = 256) student-athletes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Injury incidence, burden of injury and total, match and training injury rates, and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The frequencies and proportions were also calculated. An injury was defined as any physical condition that prevents a student-athlete from full participation for a period greater than 24 h. RESULTS: Over a quarter (0.266) of student-athletes sustained an injury in the academic season. Male student-athletes had a higher injury rate than females (21.6 vs 11.3 injuries/1000 h). Rugby (20.8 injuries/1000 h) had the highest injury rates with hurling/Camogie (6.3 injuries/1000 h) the lowest. Lower extremity injuries were predominant (68.8%) with ankle sprains demonstrating a large burden for all sports (20.6-280.2 days absent/1000 h). Hamstring strains (13.7-118.4 days absent/1000 h) had a large burden for all sports except male Rugby. Knee sprains had a large burden on the female Gaelic footballer (84.8 days absent/1000 h). Sprinting (27.4%) and the tackle (20.1%) were the most common mechanism of injury. Injuries were predominantly moderate (8-28 days) or severe (>28 days) (84.7%). CONCLUSION: Injury reduction needs to be prioritised in the student-athlete, particularly in males. Specific focus is required on the lower extremity, especially in the hamstring muscles and ankle joint owing to the large burden of injury.

Injuries in Collegiate Ladies Gaelic Footballers: A 2-Season Prospective Cohort Study.

CONTEXT: Although Ladies Gaelic football is one of the most popular female sports in Ireland, just 2 previous injury surveillance studies have been completed, and both were retrospective in nature. OBJECTIVE: To prospectively examine the injury incidence and injury profile in collegiate Ladies Gaelic football over 2 seasons. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: College. Patients (or Other Participants): Adult Ladies Gaelic footballers from one collegiate institution (season 1: n = 50, season 2: n = 82). INTERVENTION(S): All time-loss injuries that occurred were recorded by certified athletic therapists and student-athletic therapists and trainers over 2 seasons. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A standardized injury report form was used to record the injury onset, mechanism, location, nature, and outcome. Injury incidence proportion, repeat incidence proportion and total, match and training injury rates, and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The frequencies and proportions were also calculated. RESULTS: The match and training injury rates were 42.48 and 7.93 injuries per 1000 hours, respectively. A low repeat incidence proportion per season was noted (11.7% and 0.0%). The injuries were predominantly acute (74.68%) and noncontact (66.25%), with hamstring injuries (21.52%) and strains (36.71%) the most frequent location and nature of injuries noted. Strains (104.92 d absent per 1000 h) and knee injuries (106.46 d absent per 1000 h) led to the greatest injury burden. Further investigations were not frequently required, with an X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging ordered in 8.00% and 6.67% of the cases, respectively. Surgery was completed following one injury. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to provide prospective injury data on Ladies Gaelic football. Priority needs to be given to preventing hamstring and knee injuries due to their occurrence and negative impact on player availability to play. Collegiate Ladies Gaelic football teams should be encouraged to implement an injury-prevention warm-up, such as the GAA15+, at training and matches.