Original Research

Injury prevalence of netball players in South Africa: The need for in jury prevention

T. Pillay, J.M. Frantz
South African Journal of Physiotherapy | Vol 68, No 3 | a17 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajp.v68i3.17 | © 2012 T. Pillay, J.M. Frantz | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 11 December 2012 | Published: 11 December 2012

About the author(s)

T. Pillay, University of the Western Cape., South Africa
J.M. Frantz, University of the Western Cape., South Africa

Full Text:

PDF (275KB)

Abstract

This study aimed to establish baseline data for injury prevalence,mechanism of injury, injury severity and management of injuries in netball playersin South Africa. A cross sectional descriptive design was employed to collect databy means of a questionnaire in 2010. Participants consisted of 254 netball playerswho participated in a netball tournament. Permission was obtained from all therelevant organizations and informed consent obtained from the participants. Thegeneral injury rate was 61.8% with an injury rate of 1.9 injuries per player forthe past season. The most commonly injured structures were the ankle 37.5 % andthe knee 28.6% with the most common mechanism of injury being landing, 19% and 29% respectively. Of those whosustained injuries, 86 (44%) of the injured athletes’ sustained severe injuries, 31(16%) sustained moderate injuriesand 78 (40%) sustained mild injuries. 67% of players reported they were able to continue with the game and 33%received medical assistance losing game and training time. The most common form of management accessed wasphysiotherapy, which accounted for 31%. It is evident that the ankle and knee injury rates amongst South Africannetball players are high in comparison to other netball playing nations. Injury surveillance is an integral part ofdeveloping preventative measures. The article lays a platform for developing these strategies against the backdrop ofits findings and comparison with other authors.

Keywords

No related keywords in the metadata.

Metrics

Total abstract views: 10741
Total article views: 6737

 

Crossref Citations

1. Injury risk factors and their priority for mitigation in women’s netball: a systematic review and Delphi consensus
Sarah Whitehead, Lois Mackay, Ben Jones, Omar Heyward, Aaron S Fox, Lucy Jane Chesson, Sean Scantlebury, Dina Christina (Christa) Janse van Rensburg
British Journal of Sports Medicine  vol: 59  issue: 5  first page: 294  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2024-108756

2. Injuries in Netball-A Systematic Review
Christopher Downs, Suzanne J. Snodgrass, Ishanka Weerasekara, Sarah R. Valkenborghs, Robin Callister
Sports Medicine - Open  vol: 7  issue: 1  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1186/s40798-020-00290-7

3. Assessing the knowledge and attitudes of semi-professional netball players in the Western Cape district regarding netball injuries: a cross-sectional study
Jaron RAS, Roné CARSTENS, Shevonne HOFFMAN, Nashitah AFRICA, Lloyd LEACH
The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness  vol: 65  issue: 3  year: 2025  
doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.24.16142-7

4. Injury surveillance of an Australian community netball club
Melinda M Franettovich Smith, M. Dilani Mendis, Alexander Parker, Brittany Grantham, Simon Stewart, Julie Hides
Physical Therapy in Sport  vol: 44  first page: 41  year: 2020  
doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2020.04.004

5. The Applied Sports Science and Medicine of Netball: A Systematic Scoping Review
Sarah Whitehead, Jonathon Weakley, Stuart Cormack, Helen Alfano, Jim Kerss, Mitch Mooney, Ben Jones
Sports Medicine  vol: 51  issue: 8  first page: 1715  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1007/s40279-021-01461-6

6. The Relationship between Ankle Joint Kinematics and Impact Forces during Unilateral Jump-Landing Tasks in University-Level Netball Players: A Pilot Study
Thembisile T. Jolingana-Seoka, Henriëtte V. Hammill, Yolandi Willemse, Mark Kramer
Applied Sciences  vol: 13  issue: 17  first page: 9934  year: 2023  
doi: 10.3390/app13179934

7. Injury has a lower incidence but higher burden than illness in elite South African netball players: A prospective cohort study
Danielle Henriette Pistorius, Audrey Jansen van Rensburg, Dina Christa Janse van Rensburg, Gopika Ramkilawon, Dimakatso Ramagole
South African Journal of Sports Medicine  vol: 37  issue: 1  year: 2025  
doi: 10.17159/2078-516X/2025/v37i1a20189

8. The epidemiology of injury and illness at the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019: an observational study
Dina C (Christa) Janse van Rensburg, Grace Bryant, Sharon Kearney, Praimanand Singh, Arnold Devos, Audrey Jansen van Rensburg, Martin P. Schwellnus, Tanita Cronje
The Physician and Sportsmedicine  vol: 50  issue: 4  first page: 359  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1080/00913847.2021.1932632

9. Relationship between ground reaction force, landing kinematics of the ankle, knee, and hip joints, and lower back strength in university-level female netball players
Ruan Janse van Rensburg, Henriëtte Hammill, Yolandi Willemse, Mark Kramer
South African Journal of Sports Medicine  vol: 37  issue: 1  year: 2025  
doi: 10.17159/2078-516X/2025/v37i1a21020

10. Match and training injury epidemiology in elite UK netball: a prospective cohort study over one season
Sara Horne, Aliah F Shaheen, Bill Baltzopoulos, Laura Hills
BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine  vol: 11  issue: 1  first page: e002324  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2024-002324

11. Situations and mechanisms of non-contact knee injury in adult netball: A systematic review
Elaine M. Mullally, Alexandra C. Atack, Mark Glaister, Nicholas C. Clark
Physical Therapy in Sport  vol: 47  first page: 193  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2020.12.004

12. The netball injury evidence base: a scoping review of methodologies and recommendations for future approaches
Sara Horne, Aliah Faisal Shaheen, Bill Baltzopoulos, Laura Hills
Systematic Reviews  vol: 13  issue: 1  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1186/s13643-024-02629-7

13. Relationship Between 3 Single-Leg Functional Performance Tests for Netball Noncontact Knee Injury Prevention Screening in Uninjured Female Adult Players
Nicholas C. Clark, Elaine M. Mullally
Journal of Sport Rehabilitation  vol: 30  issue: 7  first page: 981  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1123/jsr.2020-0345

14. Multidirectional Landing Kinetics, Stabilisation Times, and Associated Isokinetic Knee Torques of High-Level Female Netball Players
Lenthea Kamffer, Henriette V. Hammill, Yolandi Willemse, Mark Kramer
Applied Sciences  vol: 13  issue: 3  first page: 1261  year: 2023  
doi: 10.3390/app13031261

15. Current ankle sprain prevention and management strategies of netball athletes: a scoping review of the literature and comparison with best-practice recommendations
Patrick L. Rowe, Adam L. Bryant, Kade L. Paterson
BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation  vol: 13  issue: 1  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1186/s13102-021-00342-9

16. The identification of risk factors for ankle sprains sustained during netball participation
Alison S. Attenborough, Peter J. Sinclair, Tristan Sharp, Andrew Greene, Max Stuelcken, Richard M. Smith, Claire E. Hiller
Physical Therapy in Sport  vol: 23  first page: 31  year: 2017  
doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2016.06.009

17. Morphological and skill-related fitness components as potential predictors of injury in elite netball players: A cohort study
Colleen J. Sinclair, Frederik F. Coetzee, Robert Schall
South African Journal of Physiotherapy  vol: 77  issue: 1  year: 2021  
doi: 10.4102/sajp.v77i1.1524

18. A cross-sectional retrospective survey of injury situation and prevalence in female recreational netball players with a focus on knee injuries
Elaine M. Mullally, Alexandra C. Atack, Mark Glaister, Nicholas C. Clark, Nicola Brown
Physical Therapy in Sport  vol: 60  first page: 70  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2023.01.003