TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1999//
TI  - Rainfall, evaporation and the risk of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injury in the Australian Football League
JO  - Medical journal of Australia
A1  - Orchard, J.
A1  - Seward, H.
A1  - McGivern, J.
A1  - Hood, S.
SP  - 304
EP  - 306
VL  - 170
IS  - 7
N2  - OBJECTIVE: To determine if weather conditions affect the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in Australian Football. <br><br>DESIGN: Prospective observational analytic study of football matches. SETTING: The Australian Football League (AFL), a professional competition. PARTICIPANTS: All players in 2280 matches from 1992-1998. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Surgically-proven ACL injury, not involving a direct contact mechanism, during a match; rainfall; water evaporation. <br><br>RESULTS: 59 ACL injuries not involving direct contact occurred during the study period, more commonly in cities north of Melbourne (chi 2 = 17.0; df = 1; P < 0.001). Senior grade matches (relative risk [RR], 3.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52-6.03), high water evaporation in the month before the match (RR, 2.80; 95% CI, 1.53-5.10) and low rainfall in the year before the match (RR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.12-3.34) were significantly associated with these injuries. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Low water evaporation and high rainfall significantly lower the risk of ACL injuries in AFL footballers. The likely mechanism is a softening of the ground, which lowers shoe-surface traction. Consistent extra watering and covering of grounds during periods of high water evaporation may lower the rate of ACL injuries.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0025-729X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -