title: The epidemiology of injuries in contact flag football.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the epidemiology of injuries in post-high school male and female athletes in the rapidly growing international sport of contact flag football.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective injury-observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Kraft Stadium, Jerusalem, Israel.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1492 players, consisting of men (n = 1252, mean age, 20.49 ± 5.11) and women (n = 240, mean age, 21.32 ± 8.95 years), participated in 1028 games over a 2-season period (2007-2009).
  
  
  METHODS
  All time-loss injuries sustained in game sessions were recorded by the off-the-field medical personnel and followed up by a more detailed phone injury surveillance questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred sixty-three injuries were reported, comprising 1 533 776 athletic exposures (AEs). The incidence rate was 0.11 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.09-0.12] per 1000 AEs, and incidence proportion was 10.66% (95% CI, 9.10-12.22). Seventy-six percent of the injuries were extrinsic in nature. Thirty percent of the injuries were to the fingers, thumb, and wrist, 17% to the knee, 17% to the head/face, 13% to the ankle, and 11% to the shoulder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contact flag football results in a significant amount of moderate to severe injuries. These data may be used in the development of a formal American flag football injury database and in the development and implementation of a high-quality, randomized, prospective injury prevention study. This study should include the enforcement of the no-pocket rule, appropriate headgear, self-fitting mouth guards, the use of ankle braces, and changing the blocking rules of the game.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. sportmed@zahav.net.il
authors.forename: Yonatan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Grethe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Myklebust
authors.forename: Meir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nyska
authors.forename: Ezequiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Palmanovich
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Victor
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Witvrouw
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult