Table 2 Methodological details and injury incidence of netball descriptive epidemiological studies of competitions

Hopper (1986) [30]

AUS

Prospective cohort study: State competition: Junior 124, Senior 324 teams. Questionnaire: Self report + physio post treatment

1983 1 × 14 wk season

Recreational to competitive level. 3,108 netball players, 158 inj. Age Junior: 12–15 y; Senior 16 y + 

Any injury presenting to First Aid room requiring immediate medical care or with some form of disability. Minor inj not included

Rate: 50.82/1000 players/match

All

Hopper et al. (1995a) [59]

AUS

Prospective cohort study: State competition Questionnaire: Self report + physio post treatment

1985–1989 5 × 14 wk seasons

Recreational to competitive level. 11,228 netball players, 608 inj. Age 14 y + mean 18.8 ± 5.6 y

Any inj presenting to First Aid room requiring immediate medical care or presented with some form of disability. Minor inj not included. Severity identified by Physio, graded 1, 2 or 3 based on symptoms

Rate: 0.054/player/match

All

McKay et al. (1996) [60]

AUS

Prospective cohort study: Netball and basketball State competitions. Trained observers recorded inj, players completed questionnaire & follow-up telephone interviews

1991–1992 2 × seasons

Elite & recreational level. 9,190 netball players, 159 inj. Mean age 27.2 ± 7.8 y

Bodily harm to player causing stoppage of play, substitution or obvious disability. Severity classified on time-loss and treatment graded trivial, minor, substantial, major, severe

Rate: 17.3 inj/1000 netball players

All

Pringle et al. (1998) [61]

NZ

Cross-sectional study: Trained observers recorded rugby union, rugby league & netball inj data. Standardised incident form, follow-up telephone calls by Physio’s monitored to recovery

Not known 4 wk period of 1 season

Junior recreational level. 1512 netball players, 15 inj Age 5–16 y

All inj that impaired a player’s performance. Severity classified on time-lost as minor or moderate

Rate: 13inj/1000 player hrs. Exposure: Not clear

All

Hume & Steele (2000) [62]

AUS

Prospective cohort study: State competition: 94 teams. Questionnaire completed by inj player reporting for medical treatment during

1995 3-day champs

Sub-elite level: U17, U19, U23 & Open (over 23 y). 940 netball players, 131 inj. Mean age 14.4 ± 4.4 y

All players reporting for treatment of any inj incurred during the 3-day champs

Rate: 139.4 inj/1000 players; 23.8/1000 playing hrs Exposure: Estimated individual player match hrs

All

Stevenson et al. (2000) [14]

AUS

Prospective cohort WASIS study: Baseline data and incidence of injury, self-report questionnaire with follow-up telephone interview once/m over season

1997 1 × 5m season

Community level. 258 netball players, 112 inj Age 9–56 y, mean 22 y

Council of Europe definition: any inj occurring during sports participation leads to: reduction in sports activity, need for advice/treatment and/or adverse economic or social effects. Severity based on level of treatment graded minor, moderate or severe

Rate: 12.1 inj/1000 h of participation Exposure: Mean individual combined match and training hrs

All

Finch et al. (2002) [15]

AUS

Prospective cohort WASIS study: Baseline data and inj incidence; self-report questionnaire with follow-up telephone surveys once/m over season

1997– 1998 2 × 5 m seasons

Community level 247 netball players, 216 inj Mean age 22 ± 8 y

Council of Europe definition: see Stevenson et al. (2000) Severity based on level of treatment graded minor, moderate or severe

Rate: 11.3 inj/1000 h of participation Exposure: Mean individual combined match and training hrs

All

Finch & Cassell (2006) [63]

AUS

Retrospective cohort study: Self-report household telephone survey of sports & active recreation inj

Not known Previous inj every 2 wk over 12 m

Community/ recreational level. Total 1084 participants; 648 across all sports, 34 net inj. Age 5 y + 

Any inj during sport or active recreation regardless of treatment or time loss. Significant injury: required treatment, interfered daily activity &/or impacted subsequent activity

Rate: 19 inj/10,000 population; 51/1000 participants

All

Langeveld et al. (2012) [19]

SA

Prospective cohort study: USSA & National champs. Questionnaire completed by team manager, coach or medical staff daily

2009 3 × champs 4–6 days

Elite/Sub-elite U19, U21 & Senior players. 1280 netball players, 205 inj Severity: No missed matches

Any physical complaint during a netball match or training requiring medical attention. Severity: no. missed matches. Recurrent inj: same type as index inj post recovery from index inj

Rate: 500.7 inj/1000 playing hrs. Exposure: Individual player match time (mins) before inj

All

Pillay & Frantz (2012) [64]

SA

Cross-sectional study: Self-report questionnaire of player inj collected at a tournament

2010 1 × previous season

Elite/Sub-elite level. Total 254 players, 301 inj Age: 55 Club 24.1 ± 6.3 y; 147 Provincial 23.9 ± 5.1; 52 National 24.3 ± 4.3

Any physical complaint during match or training irrespective of need for medical attention or time loss. Severity based on symptoms graded as mild, moderate, severe. Repeated inj: inj to same site

Rate: 1.9 inj/player/ season

All

Singh et al. (2013) [65]

JAM

Retrospective cohort study: Self-report questionnaire of player inj & related inj factors

2003 –2007 Previous inj 5 y

Elite/Sub elite players: Senior (over 21 y), U21 & U16 age groups. Total of 59 players, 70 inj

Trauma to body resulting in the cessation of play. Severity: no definition used Grade I, II or II. Recurrent inj: repeated inj to same site

Proportion: 68% players inj

All

Ellapen et al. (2015) [66]

SA

Retrospective cohort study: Province School League: 80 Schools. Self-report questionnaire of netball inj history & related inj factors

Not known Previous inj 12 m recall period

Junior (school) level. Total 413 players, 258 inj Age 13–17 y

Distress or pain while playing netball preventing physical activity for > 1 day. Pain severity rating 1–5: no pain, mild, moderate, severe, worst pain

Proportion: 62% of players inj

All

Bissell & Lorentzos (2018) [67]

AUS

Prospective cohort study: 1 club. Self-report questionnaire on overuse inj (Oslo Sports Trauma Center questionnaire). Recorded 1 × per wk

Not known 1 × 12 wk season

Recreational/Club level players. Total 37 players, 152 overuse inj cases in 42 players. Age: adults < 45 y

All players reporting overuse inj during the 12 wk season. Severity score 0–25: based on time-loss and pain

Inj prevalence: 77.7%. 25% significant overuse inj

Overuse inj of knee, ankle & shoulder

Smyth et al. (2020) [68]

AUS

Prospective cohort study: ANNC competition: 16 teams. Medical attention & self-report inj data

2018 6-day champs

Sub-elite level netball players. Total 192 players; 96 U17, 96 U19. 103 inj

Concurrent IDCF: Any inj that required physio assessment irrespective of timeloss. Sports incapacity: inj resulted in any match time-loss or reduction in capacity based on HPQ Injury Classification: OSIICS

Rate: 89.4 inj/1000 player hrs. Sports incapacity: 19.1 inj/1000 player hrs. Exposure: Individual athlete & mean team match exposure (no athletes x no. teams x matches x min/match)

All

Botha et al. (2020) [69]

SA

Cross-sectional study: 2 junior tournaments. Standardised self-report questionnaire on inj & training modalities

2015 + 2017 Duration not stated

Junior (U15, U16) & Senior (U19) school level netball players. Total 560 players, 46 inj: 220 U15, 17 inj; 220 U16, 20 inj; 120 U19, 9 inj

Any physical complaint during netball match-play or training requiring medical attention

Rate: total 22.5 inj/1000 playing hrs. U15: 22.8; U16: 22.8; U19: 21.2. Exposure: Mean team match playing hrs (no. matches x game length x players)

All

Sinclair et al. (2020) [70]

SA

Cross-sectional study: School & State leagues. Inj diagnosed by doctor. Inj questionnaire completed with support of research assistant weekly

2017–2018 2 × seasons

U18 secondary school, U19, U21 & Senior Free State netball players. Total 96 players, 48 inj

Any physical complaint during netball match-play or training requiring medical treatment, loss of time or performance restriction. Severity: based on time-loss categories slight, minor, moderate, major

Rate: 33.9 inj/1000 h of match play Exposure: Mean match hours (1 match = 14 playing hrs)

All

Janse van Rensburg et al. (2021) [18]

SA

Prospective cohort study: Netball World Cup 2019: 16 teams. Inj surveillance forms completed by team physician &/or venue doctors

2019 10-day champs

Elite level players. 16 national teams. Total 192 players, 49 inj Mean age 26.6 y (95%CI: 25.9–27.3)

Any newly acquired inj & exacerbations requiring medical attention during the tournament. Severity: number days lost Recurrent inj: recovery from index injury and subsequent presentation of same inj

Rate: 54.8/1000 player hrs. Prevalence 20.3% Exposure: Mean individual match hrs (1 h × 7 players = 7 match player hrs/team/match)

All

Toohey et al. (2022) [71]

AUS

Prospective cohort study: SSN competition: 8 teams. Inj data collected during preseason, in-season & offseason. Data recorded by doctor or Physiotherapist using centralised database

2017 – 2019 3 × 17 wk seasons

Elite level players. 8 teams, total 119 players, 866 inj. Mean age 25.4 ± 4.2 y

All inj requiring medical attention and time-loss. Severity based on length of time-loss. Injury burden: mean severity x inj incidence Subsequent injury: any inj following initial inj in time period Injury Classification: OSIICS

Rate: 3.9 inj/365 player days. Exposure: Pre-season & in-season team hrs based on player contract days (no. contracted players x no. teams x no. surveillance days)

All

Kumari & Chaudhary (2023) [72]

IND

Prospective cohort study: All India inter university tournament. 52 teams Data recorded at the Central University of Haryana health centre

Not known

University level players. Total 14 players injured. Age range 18–24 y

Inj involving foot pain, finger pain, finger cuts, leg pain, and ankle twist referred to University health centre

Not provided: 3 finger pain; 7 leg pain; 2 ankle twist; 1 finger cut; 1 foot pain

Foot, finger, leg, ankle