Injury Location and Type
Table 2 summarises the range of estimates for the distribution of match injuries by the injured body location.
Table 2. Documented distribution of injuries by body location
Body Location |
Proportion of match injuries (%) |
||
Overall |
Backs |
Forwards |
|
Head / Neck |
9 to 44% | 17 to 53% | 0 to 33% |
|
13 to 44% | 17 to 53% | 7 to 33% |
Upper limb |
6 to 60% | 0 to 67% | 0 to 100% |
|
0 to 40% | 0 to 67% | 0 to 67% |
|
3 to 20% | 0 to 17% | 0 to 33% |
|
1 to 3% | 0 to 2% | 1 to 7% |
Trunk |
0 to 11% | 0 to 14% | 0 to 20% |
|
1 to 4% | 0 to 4% | 0 to 7% |
|
1 to 4% | 0 to 6% | 0 to 8% |
|
1 to 3% | 0 to 6% | 0 to 3% |
Lower limb |
20 to 65% | 33 to 71% | 0 to 100% |
|
13 to 40% | 13 to 35% | 12 to 50% |
|
7 to 20% | 0 to 20% | 8 to 50% |
|
1 to 20% | 0 to 50% | 0 to 10% |
Regardless of game format, the lower limb is typically the most frequently injured body region (Fuller and Taylor, 2022b; 2024c). The upper limb and head/face are also commonly reported (Fuller and Taylor, 2021b; 2022b; 2025), while injuries to the trunk region are less frequent (Fuller and Taylor, 2021b; 2022c). Within the lower limb, knee injuries are particularly common followed by the ankle and posterior thigh (Fuller and Taylor, 2017; 2022b; 2024; 2024b; 2024d; 2026). Within the upper limb, injuries to the shoulder/clavicle, elbow and the wrist/hand are most frequently reported (Fuller et al., 2017; Fuller and Taylor, 2014; 2022b; 2025). Comparisons between positional units suggest similar distributions of injury by body region, with the lower limb the predominant body region for both forwards and backs (Fuller and Taylor, 2022b; 2022c; 2024; 2024c). Among forwards, however, the knee and ankle appear to be most the most common lower limb injury locations (Fuller and Taylor, 2014; 2017; 2024), while for backs the posterior thigh appears the most common lower limb injury location (Fuller and Taylor, 2017; 2022b; 2025; 2026). In the upper limb, shoulder/clavicle injuries are reported to be equally as common among forwards and backs (Fuller and Taylor, 2017; 2022b; 2024d; 2025).
Table 3 summarises the range of estimates for the distribution of match injuries by the type of injury.
Table 3. Documented distribution of injuries by injury type
Body Location |
Proportion of match injuries (%) |
||
Overall |
Backs |
Forwards |
|
Joint / Ligament injures |
22 to 100% | 0 to 100% | 0 to 100% |
|
25 to 80% | 29 to 67% | 18 to 100% |
|
1 to 20% | 0 to 33% | 0 to 33% |
Central / Peripheral Nervous System |
12 to 34% | 10 to 47% | 0 to 27% |
|
12 to 35% | 10 to 47% | 7 to 25% |
Muscle / Tendon injuries |
9 to 29% | 0 to 50% | 0 to 50% |
|
3 to 20% | 0 to 50% | 0 to 16% |
|
2 to 7% | 0 to 10% | 2 to 8% |
Bone |
6 to 20% | 3 to 50% | 0 to 23% |
|
5 to 20% | 3 to 50% | 0 to 19% |
Joint / ligament injuries are among the most reported injury types (Fuller and Taylor, 2022c; 2024), followed by Central/Peripheral Nervous System (CNS/PNS) injuries (Fuller and Taylor, 2024b; 2025), muscle/tendon injuries (Fuller and Taylor, 2025; 2025b), and bone injuries (Fuller and Taylor, 2022b; 2026). Among joint/ligament injuries, sprains are the most common (Fuller and Taylor, 2017; 2024), with concussion the most common CNS/PNS injury (Fuller and Taylor, 2024b; 2025), and muscle strains the most common muscle/tendon injury (Fuller and Taylor, 2022b; 2025). Joint/ligament injuries and muscle/tendon injuries are similarly distributed among forwards and backs (Fuller and Taylor, 2022b; 2022c; 2024b), though the proportion of CNS/PNS and bone injuries is reportedly greater among backs than for forwards (Fuller and Taylor, 2017; 2022b; 2024b; 2024c; 2024d; 2025; 2025b)).