Characterizing neck injuries in the national football league: a descriptive epidemiology study

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

Research

Venkat Boddapati¹  Sree M. Vemu²  Rex A. W. Marco²  Bobby Dow³  Dakota Doucet³  Takashi Hirase⁴ 

[1] Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 E. 70th St, 10021, New York, NY, USA;Houston Methodist Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, 6445 Main Street, Suite 2500, 77030, Houston, TX, USA;Houston Methodist Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, 6445 Main Street, Suite 2500, 77030, Houston, TX, USA;Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, 77807, Bryan, TX, USA;Houston Methodist Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, 6445 Main Street, Suite 2500, 77030, Houston, TX, USA;Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, 77807, Bryan, TX, USA;Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 E. 70th St, 10021, New York, NY, USA;

关键词: Tackling techniques;    American football;    Cervical spine injury;    Neck injury;    Sports trauma;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12891-023-06830-y

 received in 2023-03-14, accepted in 2023-08-24,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundNeck injury is a common and often debilitating injury among athletes participating in American football. Limited data exists regarding neck injuries among elite athletes in the National Football League (NFL). To characterize the epidemiology of non-season ending, season-ending, and career-ending neck injuries in the NFL from 2016 through 2021.MethodsAthletes who sustained neck injuries were identified using the NFL’s injured reserve (IR) list between the 2016 and 2021 seasons. Demographics and return to sport (RTS) data were collected. Available game footages were reviewed to identify the mechanism of injury (MOI). Injury incidence rates were calculated based on per team play basis.ResultsDuring the 6-year study period, 464 players (mean age 26.8 ± 3.2 years) were placed on the injury reserve list due to neck injuries. There were 285 defensive players and 179 offensive players injured (61.4 vs 38.6%, respectively, p < 0.001). Defensive back was the most common position to sustain a neck injury (111 players, 23.9%). 407 players (87.7%) sustained non-season-ending injuries with a mean RTS at 9.2 ± 11.3 days. 36 players (7.8%) sustained season-ending injuries with a mean RTS at 378.6 ± 162.0 days. 21 players (4.5%) sustained career-ending injuries. The overall incidence of neck injuries was 23.5 per 10,000 team plays. The incidence of season-ending injuries and career-ending injuries were 1.82 and 1.06 per 10,000 team plays, respectively. There were 38 injuries with available footages for MOI assessment (23 non-season-ending, 9 season-ending, 6 career-ending). Head-to-head contact was seen in 15 injuries (39.5%), head-down tackling in 11 injuries (28.9%), direct extremity-to-head contact in 7 injuries (18.4%), and head-to-ground contact in 5 injuries (13.2%). There was no significant difference in age, position, or MOI among players sustaining non-season-ending, season-ending, and career-ending injuries.ConclusionThere is a high incidence of neck injuries among NFL athletes with predictable MOIs including head-to-head contact, head-down tackling, direct extremity-to-head contact, and head-to-ground contact. Defensive players were more likely to sustain neck injuries compared to offensive players. Defensive back was the most common position to sustain a neck injury.Level of evidenceIII.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023