Soft tissue injuries in the Australian Football League

The Australian Football League (AFL) has a unique injury profile based on its large size playing fields and long match duration. In particular, there are very high rates of soft tissue injuries, such as hamstring strains, groin injuries, quadriceps strains and calf strains. It is no coincidence that much of the world-leading research into these soft tissue injuries has arisen from Australia in the last two decades. This book is an expansion of the original PhD thesis of John Orchard, injury surveillance coordinator for the AFL over the time period 1992-2008. It summarises the epidemiology of these injuries and also clinical insights into how to best manage and prevent them. This book will be of interest to sports physicians, physiotherapists, biomechanists, conditioners and other professionals who need to regularly deal with soft tissue injury in the football codes and other sports.