Carmody David J, Taylor Thomas K F, Parker David A, Coolican Myles R J, Cumming Robert G
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatic Surgery, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW.
Med J Aust. 2005 Jun 6;182(11):561-4. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb06814.x.
To review acute spinal cord injuries (ASCIs) in all Australian codes of football (rugby union [RU], rugby league [RL], Australian Rules football [ARF] and soccer) for 1997-2002 and to compare data with those of a 1986-1996 survey.
Retrospective review of hospital records, and structured interviews with injured players.
Patients admitted to any of the six Australian spinal cord injury units with a documented football-related ASCI over the period 1997-2002.
Average annual incidence of ASCIs per 100,000 players in the different codes, final Frankel grading of injuries, and wheelchair status.
Fifty-two footballers (45 adult men and seven schoolboys) suffered ASCIs between 1997 and 2002. The average annual incidence of ASCIs per 100,000 players was 3.2 for RU, 1.5 for RL, 0.5 for ARF and 0.2 for soccer. While there has been little change in incidence since the 1986-1996 survey, there has been a trend towards less severe injuries in RU and RL, but not in ARF. There have been no scrum injuries in RL since 1996, when the scrum stopped being contested. Seven injuries occurred in RU scrums, six at the moment of engagement of the opposing teams. The incidence of 2-on-1 and "gang" tackles (involving multiple tacklers) in RL is disturbing. Overall, 39% of injured players became permanently wheelchair-dependent.
There continues to be good reason to revise the laws of scrum engagement in RU. The laws relating to multiple tacklers in RL should be examined. The insurance cover for injured players is grossly inadequate. The longstanding need for a registry of spinal cord injuries for all football codes regrettably remains unmet.
回顾1997 - 2002年澳大利亚所有足球项目（英式橄榄球联盟[RU]、英式橄榄球联赛[RL]、澳式橄榄球[ARF]和足球）中的急性脊髓损伤（ASCI）情况，并将数据与1986 - 1996年的一项调查结果进行比较。
对医院记录进行回顾性分析，并对受伤球员进行结构化访谈。
1997 - 2002年期间，因足球相关ASCI入住澳大利亚六个脊髓损伤治疗中心中任何一个的患者。
不同足球项目中每10万名球员的ASCI年均发病率、损伤的最终Frankel分级以及轮椅使用情况。
1997年至2002年期间，52名足球运动员（45名成年男性和7名男学生）发生了ASCI。每10万名球员的ASCI年均发病率在RU项目中为3.2，RL项目中为1.5，ARF项目中为0.5，足球项目中为0.2。自1986 - 1996年调查以来，发病率变化不大，但RU和RL项目中损伤严重程度有减轻趋势，而ARF项目中没有。自1996年取消争球对抗后，RL项目中未发生争球损伤。RU项目中有7例争球损伤，6例发生在双方球队接触瞬间。RL项目中双人或多人擒抱（涉及多名擒抱者）的发生率令人担忧。总体而言，39%的受伤球员永久性依赖轮椅。
仍有充分理由修订RU项目中的争球接触规则。RL项目中与多名擒抱者相关的规则应予以审查。受伤球员的保险保障严重不足。遗憾的是，长期以来对所有足球项目脊髓损伤登记处的需求仍未得到满足。
