Preparticipation medical evaluation in professional sport in the UK: theory or practice?
OBJECTIVE
To determine the level of pre-employment, pre-season, and post-injury medical evaluation of players undertaken within UK professional team sports.


METHODS
A postal, whole population survey.


METHODS
Elite professional sports teams in England.


METHODS
Six groups comprising the following clubs: professional football (Premiership, 15 of 20; Championship, 22 of 24), rugby union (Premiership, 9 of 12; Division 1, 11 of 14), rugby league (Super League, 6 of 11) and cricket (County, 12 of 18).


METHODS
Number (percentage) of clubs recording players' medical history and undertaking medical examinations of players' cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, and musculoskeletal systems at pre-employment, pre-season and post-injury.


RESULTS
The overall response to the survey was 74%, with a range from 55% to 92% among groups. Almost 90% of football (Premiership and Championship) and rugby union (Premiership) clubs took a pre-employment history of players' general health, cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, and musculoskeletal systems, but fewer than 50% of cricket and rugby union (Division 1) clubs recorded a history. The majority of football (Premiership and Championship) and rugby union (Premiership) clubs implemented both cardiovascular and musculoskeletal examinations of players before employment. Fewer than 25% of clubs in any of the groups implemented neurological examinations of players at pre-employment, although 100% of rugby union (Premiership) and rugby league clubs implemented neurological testing during pre-season.


CONCLUSIONS
None of the sports implemented best practice guidelines for the preparticipation evaluation of players at all stages of their employment. Departures from best practice guidelines and differences in practices between clubs within the same sport leave club physicians vulnerable if their players sustain injuries or ill health conditions that could have been identified and avoided through the implementation of a preparticipation examination.
Fuller
C W
CW
Centre for Sports Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK. colin.fuller@nottingham.ac.uk
Ojelade
E O
EO
Taylor
A
A
D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D054874:Athletic Performance; D004651:Employment; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010808:Physical Examination; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D013177:Sports