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Are current playground safety standards adequate for preventing fall related arm fractures?
Preventing hamstring muscle strain injury: sport specific e x e r c i s e s in t r u n k f l e x i o n a n d " f a t i g u e s t r e t c h i n g " m a y b e u s e f u l in r e d u c i n g i n j u r y i n c i d e n c e G. Verrall* SPORTSMED.SASportsMedicineClinic,Adelaide
Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a hamstring muscle strain injury [HMSI] prevention program. Design: Prospective cohort study, Compared to the AFL injury list data. Setting: Professional Australian Rules football club. Outcome Measures: Comparison of games lost, number of players injured, number of injury episodes and number of players injured without prior history of hamstring injury from HMSI in respect to the 1998-2001 football playing seasons. MR was used to verify HMSI. Method: The clinical features and mechanism of injury for HMS was studied from seasons 1998 and 1999. For the following two seasons a prevention program was devised and initiated. The program involved the following: sport specific exercises in trunk flexion and eccentric hamstring stretches during and after training and playing whilst muscle was fatigued. All players had verbal instructions with the required program being demonstrated and then incorporated into training and playing drills. Results: For the seasons 1998,1999,2000 and 2001 respectively the following results were obtained: Games lost 31,38,5,21. Number of players injured 9,11,3,5. Number of Injury Episodes 12,15,3,8. Number of New Injuries 3,4,0,2. There has been no decrease in these outcome measures when compared to the AFL Injury data list for the same seasons. Conclusion: With this program all outcome measures demonstrated improvement comparing 2000-1 with 1998-9 and is therefore promising with respect to reducing the incidence hamstring strains in elite football players.
Are current playground safety standards adequate fall related arm fractures? S. Sherker*,&J. Ozanne-Smith. MenashUniversityAccidentResearchCentre
for preventing
Playground related injury is a serious and common event in childhood, resulting in substantial pathology and costs. Since the introduction of new playground safety standards in 1996, population based hospitalisation rates have increased, driven primarily by arm fracture and not head injury. Current standards aim to minimise head injury risk, with peak deceleration below 200g and Head Injury Criterion (HIC) below 1000 recommended (corresponding to maximum equipment height of 2.5m and surface depth of 20cm). The aim of this study is to assess compliance with current standards in playgrounds where children have sustained a fall-related arm fracture. An uninterrupted series of children aged less than 13 years who fell from playground equipment located in schools and sustained an arm fracture were interviewed at the site of their fall. Equipment type and height, surface type and depth, and surface impact attenuation (peak deceleration and HIC) were measured and compliance with safety standards was determined for 402 cases. Ninety-eight percent of playgrounds had the recommended type of surface material, mostly tanbark. The mean surface depth was 11.1 + 5.0crn and mean equipment height was 2.04 + 0.43m. Over 85% of playgrounds complied with recommended maximum equipment height, impact deceleration and HIC. Only 4.7% of playgrounds complied with recommended surface depth. Results suggest that playgrounds where children have sustained an arm fracture comply with important safety recommendations, except surface depth. Standards should be reviewed to take into account arm fracture prevention. Maintenance of surface depth may be an important consideration. 86
Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a hamstring muscle strain injury [HMSI] prevention program. Design: Prospective cohort study, Compared to the AFL injury list data. Setting: Professional Australian Rules football club. Outcome Measures: Comparison of games lost, number of players injured, number of injury episodes and number of players injured without prior history of hamstring injury from HMSI in respect to the 1998-2001 football playing seasons. MR was used to verify HMSI. Method: The clinical features and mechanism of injury for HMS was studied from seasons 1998 and 1999. For the following two seasons a prevention program was devised and initiated. The program involved the following: sport specific exercises in trunk flexion and eccentric hamstring stretches during and after training and playing whilst muscle was fatigued. All players had verbal instructions with the required program being demonstrated and then incorporated into training and playing drills. Results: For the seasons 1998,1999,2000 and 2001 respectively the following results were obtained: Games lost 31,38,5,21. Number of players injured 9,11,3,5. Number of Injury Episodes 12,15,3,8. Number of New Injuries 3,4,0,2. There has been no decrease in these outcome measures when compared to the AFL Injury data list for the same seasons. Conclusion: With this program all outcome measures demonstrated improvement comparing 2000-1 with 1998-9 and is therefore promising with respect to reducing the incidence hamstring strains in elite football players.
Are current playground safety standards adequate fall related arm fractures? S. Sherker*,&J. Ozanne-Smith. MenashUniversityAccidentResearchCentre
for preventing
Playground related injury is a serious and common event in childhood, resulting in substantial pathology and costs. Since the introduction of new playground safety standards in 1996, population based hospitalisation rates have increased, driven primarily by arm fracture and not head injury. Current standards aim to minimise head injury risk, with peak deceleration below 200g and Head Injury Criterion (HIC) below 1000 recommended (corresponding to maximum equipment height of 2.5m and surface depth of 20cm). The aim of this study is to assess compliance with current standards in playgrounds where children have sustained a fall-related arm fracture. An uninterrupted series of children aged less than 13 years who fell from playground equipment located in schools and sustained an arm fracture were interviewed at the site of their fall. Equipment type and height, surface type and depth, and surface impact attenuation (peak deceleration and HIC) were measured and compliance with safety standards was determined for 402 cases. Ninety-eight percent of playgrounds had the recommended type of surface material, mostly tanbark. The mean surface depth was 11.1 + 5.0crn and mean equipment height was 2.04 + 0.43m. Over 85% of playgrounds complied with recommended maximum equipment height, impact deceleration and HIC. Only 4.7% of playgrounds complied with recommended surface depth. Results suggest that playgrounds where children have sustained an arm fracture comply with important safety recommendations, except surface depth. Standards should be reviewed to take into account arm fracture prevention. Maintenance of surface depth may be an important consideration. 86