The cost of injury in Ladies Gaelic football: A nine-year analysis (2012-2020) of the LGFA's Injury Fund

Objectives: Ladies Gaelic football is a popular women's sport in Ireland and internationally. An injury fund is avail-able to Ladies Gaelic football players for claims to cover excess medical bills/lost wages, facilitating a longitudinal analysis of claim data over time. This study aimed to report Ladies Gaelic football injury claim numbers, rates, and associated costs, and consider claim trends over time. Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: All approved injury claims from Ladies Gaelic football players between 2012 and 2020 were analysed. The frequency of injury claims, cost of the injury fund, and specific treatment expenses were calculated for the overall sample, and for adults and youths. Claim rates per 1000 players, per 1000 adults and per 1000 youths were calculated and Poisson regression was used to examine trends over time. Results: A total of euro6,200,557.68 was allocated to 9348 claims, averaging euro663.30 +/- 1387.15 per claim. There were 12.98 (95 % confidence interval 12.72-13.25) claims per 1000 players and 1.15 (95 % confidence interval 1.12- 1.17) per club. No significant injury trends over time were observed whilst the average inflation-adjusted claim cost increased by 71.9 %. Lower extremity injuries accounted for most claims (63.8 %) and most costs (83.4 %). The knee, ankle and hamstring were most frequently injured and knee injuries accounted for 70 % of injury costs. Conclusions: Claim rates remained prevalent between 2012 and 2020 though average claim costs increased substan-tially during this time. Investment towards injury prevention strategies targeting lower extremity injuries, particu-larly knee injuries, is strongly supported by these data.(c) 2022 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study aimed to report injury claim data in Ladies Gaelic football in Ireland over a period of 2012-2020 and examine trends over time. The study found that claim rates remained prevalent, but claim costs increased significantly during this time. Lower extremity injuries, especially knee injuries, were the most common type of injury, emphasizing the need for investment in injury prevention strategies.