Inside Football - Feeling no pain

On average, 8 AFL players per club are unavailable for selection each week due to injury, that's 20% of the playing list. Where possible, injured players will 'take the needle', an injection of local anaesthetic to numb the pain of a mild sprain or painful joint, to enable them to take the field for their team. Read on to find out more about this very common practice in the AFL.

This article was originally featured in Inside Football on 24th June, 2009

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AFL Record - Osteitis Pubis

Osteitis Pubis can be a career ending injury in AFL. Characterised by chronic pain at the pubic bone and surrounding areas of the groin, if left untreated a player can begin to lose agility, kicking power and speed. Initially pain may not be felt all the time. Players need to be aware of the symptoms and respond quickly to avoid this debilitating injury affecting their career longevity.

This article was originally published in the AFL Record, Roung 12 2009.

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AFL Record - Why taping is a necessity

An AFL club can use up to 37 kilometres of tape in a year, that’s about 1 km of tape per listed player. Taping is not cheap for clubs; an annual taping bill can run into the tens of thousands. Ankles and thumbs are most commonly taped, some clubs enforce compulsory taping of ankles at training and on game day, other clubs go by player need and injury history. The interesting thing about this practice is that it is not strongly supported by scientific research. Read on to find out why this is such a ubiquitous practice in the AFL.

This article was originally published in the AFL Record in Round 9, 2009.

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