Sport
Australian rules football (AFL, Aussie rules or footy) asks for more running than the other football codes, with repeated sprints, marking contests, tackles and bumps: midfielders in the Australian Football League (AFL) cover about 12 km a game. Hamstring strains are the commonest injury in the AFL season after season, concussion is second, and in women's football anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries happen at several times the men's rate. Community football, from juniors to AFL Europe's leagues, plays under the same laws, with contact rules for juniors by age.
This guide covers what the game asks of your body, the common injuries, and the prevention programmes as they were tested: Prep to Play for women and girls, and PAFIX and FootyFirst in men's community football. It sets out the AFL's concussion rules in its own words, with dates: a minimum of 21 days and a doctor's clearance in community football, and the 12-day minimum in the AFL and AFL Women's (AFLW). It includes a warm-up built on Prep to Play and a strength workout, with a 3D demo of every move. A Human Web isn't connected with the AFL.
AFL midfielders covered about 12.3 km a game with about 98 high-intensity efforts, and AFLW midfielders and small players ran 125 to 128 m a minute. The Compendium of Physical Activities has no value for Australian football.
In the 2023 AFL season, hamstring strains were the commonest injury (4.71 per club) and concussion the second (4.26 per club). In the AFLW, concussion, ankle, ACL and shoulder injuries cost the most matches.
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In the AFLW's first seasons, ACL injury rates were about 6 times the AFL's.
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In community football, at least 14 days of graded loading, a doctor's clearance before full contact, and no return to play before day 21. AFL and AFLW players under club doctors have a 12-day minimum, as the AFL's announcements describe it.
A 10-minute warm-up at every session and match, plus contact skills and three strength exercises at training. Coach support more than doubled its use, and players who did more of it had fewer injuries.
The AFL strongly recommends mouthguards for all matches and contact training. It says certified headgear may reduce impact forces but isn't yet proven to reduce concussions.
In the AFL, two teams of 18 play four 20-minute quarters on a large oval, kicking, handballing (punching the ball to a teammate), marking (catching a kicked ball, often in a jumping contest), tackling and bumping. Under the AFL's junior rules, boys' under-16 to under-18 teams are 18 a side and girls' 16. Women's football has grown fast since the AFLW began in 2017.
Midfielders and ruckmen covered about 12.3 km a game and forwards and backs about 11.9 km; midfielders made about 98 high-intensity efforts, with about 90 seconds between them. In the hardest minutes, players covered 150 to 160 m a minute while making up to 3 skill involvements a minute. In the AFLW, midfielders and small players ran 125 to 128 m a minute, and all running fell in the last quarter. Speed, aerobic fitness, reactive agility and lean mass matter most.
In 22 elite players, jump-test signs of neuromuscular fatigue fell after a match, and the stress hormone cortisol stayed raised for 24 hours.
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The Compendium has no value for Australian football. The nearest measured values are competitive rugby union (8.3 METs, metabolic equivalents) and competitive soccer (9.5 METs), and neither is used for footy in our calories calculator.
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The sites the studies point to:
Repeated sprints with regular running near top speed, hamstring and groin strength, leg strength and landing control for the knees, upper-body and neck strength for contact, and tackling and falling skills taught gradually.
The AFL counts injuries that make a player miss a match, so minor injuries are missing; community studies count injuries that stop play or need treatment. Figures in different lines aren't directly comparable.
From the AFL's release on its 2023 injury reports (5 September 2024):
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From 1992 to 2012, AFL clubs had 30.3 to 40.3 new injuries a season, and the share of injuries that were repeats fell from 25% to 9%. Hamstring strains were the commonest, at about 6 per club a season and 20 missed matches. Match injuries were 25.7 per 1,000 player hours in 1997 to 2000. In 2015, shoulder sprains and dislocations cost 11.5 missed games per club, mostly from tackles.
In 23 years of AFL data, the risk of a repeat strain was highest in the first match back (9% for hamstrings) and stayed raised for 15 weeks; a recent hamstring strain raised the odds 13 times, an older one 3.5 times. Calf strains became more common after substitutes were brought in, and with age. Across field sports, hamstring injuries were 0.81 per 1,000 hours and 9.4 times higher in matches. Our hamstring strain and calf pain guides cover these.
Groin injuries were among the most prevalent in the AFL. Players who reported a hip or groin injury at the draft medical had over 6 times the rate of hip and groin injury in the AFL, and in elite juniors, adductor strength fell 6% the week before groin pain began. Our groin strain, osteitis pubis and sports hernia guides cover these.
In 2017 to 2019, AFLW ACL rates were 4.31 to 6.47 per 1,000 player hours against 0.7 to 1.1 in the AFL, and 80% of AFLW ACL injuries happened in pre-season training or the first half of the season. On video, 61.9% of AFLW ACL injuries happened without contact, most often sidestepping while defending. Of 158 AFL players after an ACL reconstruction, 77% returned and 30% had another ACL injury, half of those under 21. In the AFL, non-contact ACL injuries were more common on couch (Bermuda) grass than rye grass, an association. Our ACL injury guide covers recovery.
Across 42 studies, concussion rates ranged from 2.24 to 17.63 per 1,000 player hours in elite football and from 0.35 to 14.77 in community football, because definitions differed. AFLW players had about twice the AFL's rate, women most often concussed when bumped or tackled and men in marking contests. In men's community football, there were 4.9 head, neck and face injuries per 1,000 game hours, a quarter of them concussions, and 47% of concussed players returned to the same game. In junior community football, the head was the commonest injured area, about half of those injuries were concussions, and tackling caused 45.2% of injuries. Our concussion guide covers the graduated return.
Across five women's and girls' competition levels (392 players), there were 20.9 injuries per 1,000 hours. Sub-elite women had 10.8 per 1,000 hours, with ankle sprains (2.2), concussion (1.6) and ACL injuries (0.9 per 1,000 hours) the commonest and most costly. In Victorian emergency departments, women came more often with hand and finger injuries (34.3% against 23.4%), men with shoulder injuries. Non-elite men had 24 injuries per 1,000 hours in 1997 to 1998.
Shoulder sprains and dislocations, mostly from tackles, are among the costliest injuries in the AFL. Thigh haematomas (corked thighs) are common, and thigh pads reduced them in one study. Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries fell after a rule change in 2005 limited ruckmen's run-ups. Our dislocated shoulder, quad strain and PCL injury guides cover these.
A previous injury of the same kind above all; age for calf strains; low eccentric hamstring strength in one cohort; sudden jumps in high-speed running and in weekly training load; too little pre-season training; early season and couch grass for ACL injuries; women's football for ACL injuries and concussion; and a hip or groin injury as a junior. These are associations.
Prep to Play was tested in women's and girls' teams, and PAFIX and FootyFirst in men's community football. Most ACL, hamstring and groin evidence comes from other sports, and each note says so.
The AFL and La Trobe University's programme for women and girls in community football, designed to reduce serious knee and head injuries. Its coaching manual sets out:
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In a trial in 165 women's and girls' community teams (2,481 players, 2021 to 2022), teams given support to run it used it weekly 29.7% of the time, against 13.1% without support. Concussion and ACL rates were lower with support (3.50 against 6.80, and 0.69 against 1.36, per 1,000 game hours), but those differences were uncertain, and players who did more of the programme had fewer injuries overall, an association. The trial tested how to get teams using it, not the programme against no programme. In 2019, 78% of coaches knew of it, and 53% of those used it twice a week; the elite version was put in place in 8 of 10 AFLW clubs. The manual's own figure of up to 50% fewer injuries is based on similar programmes, not a Prep to Play trial.
In 1,564 players in 18 clubs, randomised by club in 2007 to 2008, a progressive programme of change-of-direction, balance and landing work, run by trained club staff twice a week through an 8-week pre-season and an 18-week season, halved knee injuries in games compared with usual exercises, but not significantly, and cut leg injuries by about a fifth, also not significantly. Many players didn't attend twice a week, and the trial was too small to be sure about knee injuries.
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An expert-agreed programme for men aged 16 to 50: a warm-up, hamstring strength, balance, landing and changing direction, and hip, core and groin strength. When it was rolled out in Victoria, hospital-treated leg injuries fell by 20% over 2 years in a region given support to run it, but rose in a region supported only in the second year, and the falls weren't significant. Support raised how much clubs used it.
Across 8 meta-analyses, warm-ups with strength, jump-and-land and balance work halved ACL injuries and cut ACL tears without contact by about two-thirds in women and girls. Exercise and Sport Science Australia (ESSA) says the evidence in sports beyond football, handball and basketball is limited, calls for more studies in Australian rules football, netball and rugby, and names Prep to Play and FootyFirst as AFL adaptations that may be used if they keep the exercises of an effective trial. Women in team sports tear an ACL about twice as often as men.
The Copenhagen adductor exercise cut groin problems by 41% in semi-professional footballers, and Prep to Play and FootyFirst include groin strength. In elite juniors, adductor strength fell before groin pain began. No programme has been tested on groin injuries in Australian football.
In one elite squad, a week of running more than twice the 4-week average went with 5 to 12 times the injury risk that week and the next. In a sub-elite pre-season, players training least had the most injuries, and 2-week loads above 4,000 units or weekly jumps of 15 to 49% raised the odds. More than 653 m a week above 24 km/h went with 3.4 times the hamstring risk the next week, though it couldn't predict who would be injured.
Limiting ruckmen's run-up at centre bounces in 2005 cut PCL injuries from 12.9 to 5.9 per 10,000 player-hours. Players resting on the interchange bench had fewer hamstring injuries, and their fresh opponents more. The AFL says it has made more than 30 rule changes since 2005 to deter conduct that causes or risks concussion; we found no study of their effect.
Headgear hasn't been shown to prevent concussion, and no programme has been shown to prevent ACL injuries in Australian football itself. Neck strength had only small links with concussion across team sports. Nordic strength tests told little about who would strain a hamstring, and trunk control training had fewer severe injuries in one small study only.
Across 164 studies, speed, aerobic fitness, reactive agility and lean mass stood out. High training loads can be tolerated and are needed to build fitness, but sharp spikes go with injury. Endurance, upper and lower body strength and repeated sprint ability all matter as the game gets faster.
In 27 Australian footballers randomised over a 39-week season, Nordic and hip-dominant flywheel training both lengthened the hamstring's biceps femoris fibres and raised eccentric strength. The Nordic group got 3.5% quicker over 5 m in pre-season, and the flywheel group reached a 3.4% higher top speed.
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In 60 sub-elite players over a 14-week pre-season, aerobic fitness improved by 4.1% on average, most at weekly loads of 1,600 to 2,000 units (effort rating times minutes), and players doing less than 1,250 a week had the most injuries. In one AFL club, on-field match-specific training late in pre-season went with better performance in the first 4 games, an association, and computer-modelled pre-seasons that maximise performance include a taper before the season starts.
80% of AFLW ACL injuries happened in pre-season training or the first half of the season, and AFLW players ran less in the last quarter. A pre-season that builds running and strength over at least 8 weeks, with Prep to Play at every session, fits that (our suggestion).
Jump-test signs of fatigue fell after a match and cortisol stayed raised for 24 hours. Keep the 2 days after a match light, and the 48 hours before the next free of heavy legs, Nordics and hard jumping (our suggestion).
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Every session: the Prep to Play warm-up, then contact skills and its three strength exercises at training. Pre-season: 2 to 3 strength sessions a week (our suggestion), with Nordics built up over several weeks, since players dropped out of a community trial and Prep to Play expects some soreness, and running built up gradually without sudden jumps.
In season: 1 or 2 strength sessions, with Nordics once a week (our suggestion). Include some running near top speed most weeks rather than saving it for matches (our reading). Juniors: the AFL recommends no more than 25 games a season across all teams, and ideally no more than 2 a week.
220 community players in 7 clubs were randomised to 5 sessions of eccentric hamstring exercise over 12 weeks or to stretching. Only 46.8% did at least two sessions, the Nordic group least often, and overall there was no benefit. Players who did at least two sessions had fewer hamstring injuries (4.0% against 13.2%), but not significantly. A review put the poor compliance down to muscle soreness.
In one professional team, hamstring injuries fell from 9 and 11 a season to 2 and 4, and match injuries from 4.7 to 1.3 per 1,000 hours, after it added stretching while fatigued, sport-specific drills and more high-intensity intervals. This was a before-and-after comparison without a control group.
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In 210 AFL players, low eccentric hamstring strength at the start and end of pre-season went with 2.7 and 4.3 times the risk of a hamstring strain, and high strength offset the extra risk of age and a previous injury. But pooled across 6 studies, Nordic strength tests told little about who would be injured.
The risk of a repeat is highest in the first match back and stays raised for 15 weeks. Keep the hamstring work going for at least a season and build sprinting back gradually (our suggestion); our hamstring strain guide covers recovery.
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Programmes including the Nordic hamstring exercise went with about half as many hamstring injuries across sports, though the effect is uncertain when only properly randomised trials are pooled.
Nordics work only if players do them: build them up from a few slow reps, keep them going once a week in season, and add a hip-dominant exercise such as back extensions. Treat a previous strain as the main warning sign rather than a strength test.
The AFL's Guidelines for the Management of Sport-Related Concussion in Australian Football (May 2026, replacing March 2024) apply to every competition outside the AFL and AFLW, juniors and adults. Recognise a suspected concussion, remove the player at once, and refer them to a medical doctor; no return in the same match or training session. Then:
The AFL says "There are no substantive changes to the day of injury management requirements or the return to play process". The update adds the new headgear standards, monitoring for at least 24 hours, sideline doctors using the latest Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT6), and clearance only by a medical doctor.
The AFL's announcements of 14 March 2023 and 6 March 2024, and its concussion FAQs, describe a minimum of 12 days for AFL and AFLW players, kept "In AFL and AFLW, where there are advanced care settings" with club doctors. Players move through three stages (rest, recovery and a graded return to training and play) in 11 steps of at least 24 hours each, with a medical assessment before full contact training and another before playing. It also covers 18-year-olds on AFL and AFLW lists, and since 2024 an independent medical spotter can require a player who shows certain signs to come off to be assessed. In 2023, 29% of AFL players and 24% of AFLW players missed more than one match after a concussion. We haven't read the elite guidelines document itself, so these are the rules as the AFL's announcements describe them.
The UK guidelines for grassroots sport also set day 21 as the earliest return to competition, but don't need a doctor to clear each stage; the AFL's community guidelines add a doctor's clearance. AFL Europe lists the AFL's National Community Football Policy Handbook, which adopts the guidelines as policy, among its rules, so clubs that follow it use the AFL's rules (our reading).
In men's community football in 2007 to 2008, 47% of concussed players went back on in the same game. In the elite game, women were most often concussed when bumped or tackled, and men in marking contests.
The AFL's guidelines: "Mouthguards are essential for preventing injuries to the teeth and face" and "are strongly recommended at all levels of football and should be worn for all matches and contact training sessions". Custom-fitted laminated mouthguards protect best, and boil-and-bite ones are better than none. We found no national rule making them compulsory, so check your league's. In 1999, 60 to 90% of players wore them in matches but 2 to 40% in training. Across sports, people without mouthguards had over twice the risk of mouth and face injuries, and in collision sports mouthguards went with about a quarter fewer concussions.
The AFL says evidence for commercially available headgear in preventing concussion "is currently limited, although these products may help prevent cuts and abrasions". With an independent expert it wrote the Australian Football Headgear Standards (Basic and Advanced, December 2024), encourages players who choose headgear to wear certified headgear, and says "while compliant headgear may help reduce impact forces it is not yet proven to reduce concussions". A field trial of the first certified headgear is due to start in 2026. An earlier trial failed because players wouldn't wear headgear, and 42.9% of junior and youth players wore padded headgear, mostly by choice.
Thigh pads reduced corked thighs in one study. The AFL's handbook bans equipment with metal, an exposed hinge, point, strap or sharp edge, or hard plastic without padding, and allows glasses only with plastic frames and lenses held on with a band.
The AFL's Junior Rules Program Handbook (May 2024):
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From under 14, the AFL recommends that "players are not playing more than 25 games per season across talent, club and school competitions, and ideally should not be playing more than 2 games per week". Its handbook allows mixed boys' and girls' competition up to and including under 14.
The AFL's Tackle Curriculum (December 2024) teaches "a low and balanced body position", "driving with the legs", "Securely wrapping the arms", "Firmly holding on" and "Keeping the head in a safe position and eyes on the ball carrier", building contact up gradually from controlled, non-competitive drills.
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No study has tested these ages (our search), but most junior injuries come from contact and tackling. Count games across all teams, and teach tackling and falling before they're needed in matches.
Built on Prep to Play, the AFL and La Trobe University's programme for women and girls in community football: 10 minutes at the start of every training session and match, all 8 activities, choosing option A, B or C for each. The doses are the programme's, read from its coaching manual's diagrams; check them against the AFL's own Prep to Play sheet and videos on its Play AFL coaching site. In a trial in community teams, players who did more of the programme had fewer injuries.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Single-leg hop and stick
Prep to Play's strength exercises, as close as our figure gets, the landing and sprint work, and the strength workout's lifts. Each has a 3D demo.
3D demoNordic curlAdvanced · An anchor point
3D demoReverse NordicAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoCopenhagen plankAdvanced · A bench or box
3D demoSingle-leg glute bridgeIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoSide plankIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoWalking lungeIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoBack extension on a 45-degree benchIntermediate · A bench or box
3D demoBarbell back squatAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoRear-foot-elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat)Intermediate · A bench or box
3D demoSprint intervalsAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoLateral bound (skater jump)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoSingle-leg hop and stickIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoStanding broad jump with stuck landingIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoIsometric neck holds (four-way)Beginner · No equipmentThe first two are new: a warm-up built on Prep to Play and a strength workout. The FIFA 11+, Activate and Gaelic games warm-ups come from football, rugby and the GAA; the others add hamstring and groin protection, strength, sprints, jumps, fitness, the neck, and light exercise after a concussion.
A 10-minute warm-up built on Prep to Play: a jog and mobility, deceleration, cuts, jumps and landings, contact skills, sprints and one-leg balance.
10 minBeginner13 movesCardio machine, A wallA 55-minute footy strength session: accelerations and bounds, squats, split squats, bench press, chin-ups, Nordics, reverse Nordics, Copenhagens and neck holds.
55 minIntermediate14 movesA wall, A barbellFIFA's 11+ injury prevention warm-up as its manual sets it out: running drills, strength, balance and jumping at three levels, then faster running.
20 minBeginner20 movesCardio machine, A wallEngland Rugby's and World Rugby's Activate warm-up, the manual's adult sample phase: running, balance, partner holds, hops, sprints and neck holds.
25 minBeginner15 movesCardio machine, A wallA 15-minute warm-up built on the GAA 15: running drills, bridges, lunges, squats, planks, partner balance, jumps, Nordic lowers, then sprints and cuts.
15 minBeginner20 movesCardio machine, A wallThe Nordic hamstring and Copenhagen adduction programmes from the football trials: a 10-week build, three adductor levels, then once a week in season.
15 minIntermediate6 movesA wall, An anchor pointA 35-minute gym hamstring workout: Romanian deadlifts for the hip, seated leg curls for the knee, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, then Nordic curls when ready.
35 minIntermediate7 movesA dumbbell, Strength machineA 55-minute gym session for rugby: jump squats and chest throws, heavy squats, bench press, Romanian deadlifts, rows, Nordic lowers, shoulder and neck work.
55 minIntermediate15 movesA band, Medicine ballA 55-minute gym and pitch session for Gaelic games: drop jumps into sprints, squats, split squats, Nordics, back extensions, Copenhagens, rotations and presses.
55 minIntermediate17 movesA wall, A stepA 45-minute speed session: running drills, five short accelerations and three flying sprints with full rest, then Nordic curls and calf raises.
45 minIntermediate11 movesCardio machine, A wallAn advanced jump training session: pogo hops, box jumps, split squat jumps, broad jumps and depth jumps.
30 minAdvanced8 movesA bench or box, A stepThe Norwegian 4x4, a well-studied interval session for raising VO2 max: four 4-minute hard efforts with 3 easy minutes between, on a bike, rower or treadmill.
40 minIntermediate3 movesCardio machine, A wallA 25-minute interval session on a bike or rower: one-minute hard efforts with two minutes easy, building from 4 to 8 rounds.
25 minIntermediate1 movesCardio machineDeep neck holds and shoulder-blade strength in under 20 minutes: one of the best-supported kinds of exercise for a stiff, sore neck.
18 minBeginner11 movesA band, An anchor pointA 20-minute light session after a concussion: a symptom check, 10 to 15 minutes of easy cycling or walking, gentle bodyweight moves and a cool-down.
20 minBeginner8 movesCardio machine, A bench or boxTwo or three strength sessions a week fit pre-season; drop to one or two in season. The postpartum plan suits players coming back after a baby.
Two full-body strength sessions a week: the minimum that meets health guidelines, with every set, rep and rest, and an 8-week progression.
2 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA beginner gym plan: three full-body sessions a week, alternating workouts A and B, with sets, reps, rest and an 8-week progression.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekFor after about 8 weeks of a beginner plan: three full-body sessions a week, one heavy, one moderate and one light, in a gym or at home, for 12 weeks.
3 training days50 minIntermediate3 days a weekA weekly workout plan for women: three strength days, cardio and pelvic floor training, with the evidence on periods, pregnancy and menopause.
3 training days45 minBeginner5 days a weekA postpartum workout plan from the first days after birth to running and lifting again, week by week, with a caesarean track and readiness checks.
5 training days25 minBeginnerThe PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks about a heart condition or high blood pressure, chest pain, dizziness or losing consciousness, other long-term conditions and their medicines, a bone or joint problem that activity could make worse, and being told to exercise only under supervision. If you answer yes to any, check with your doctor or a qualified exercise professional first. If you're over 45 and not used to hard exercise, ask a qualified exercise professional before the hardest sessions, and delay if you're ill.
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In community football, follow the AFL's guidelines: a doctor's assessment, at least 14 days of graded loading, a doctor's clearance before full contact and no return to play before day 21. Two concussions in a season, or symptoms lasting 4 weeks or more, mean seeing a doctor with expertise in concussion. Our concussion guide has the stages.
A recent strain raised the odds of another 13 times, and the risk stays raised for 15 weeks. Use our hamstring strain guide, then keep the hamstring work in the strength workout going all season.
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AFLW ACL rates were about 6 times the AFL's, and 30% of AFL players had another ACL injury after a reconstruction. Do Prep to Play at every session, and follow the return-to-sport checks in our ACL injury guide.
A hip or groin injury as a junior went with over 6 times the rate at AFL level. See our groin strain guide, and add the Copenhagen exercise once you're pain-free.
The AFL recommends no more than 25 games a season across talent, club and school football, and ideally no more than 2 a week. Count games across all your teams; our children's guide explains why total hours matter.
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The National Health Service (NHS) advises seeing a GP if you've fainted, and calling 999 if someone faints while exercising; the PAR-Q+ asks you to check first if you get chest pain or dizziness. Do that before you play.
The NHS advises against sports with a risk of falling or bumping your tummy, naming rugby and hockey. The AFL's handbook asks pregnant players to get regular advice from their doctor on the risks and on whether it's safe to keep playing, and to share it with their club. Talk to your midwife or GP, and see our pregnancy guide.
Our epilepsy guide explains that in the International League Against Epilepsy's grouping, team sports on the ground such as football and rugby add no significant extra risk. Australian football isn't named, but it's played the same way (our reading).
The AFL's guidelines send a player urgently to hospital for neck pain or tenderness, double vision, weakness or tingling or burning in the arms or legs, a seizure, loss of consciousness, worsening consciousness, vomiting, a severe or worsening headache, or increasing restlessness, agitation or combative behaviour. A concussed player shouldn't be left alone for the first 3 to 4 hours, shouldn't drink alcohol, and shouldn't drive until a doctor clears them.
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The NHS says to call 999 if someone has hit their head and:
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Don't move the player: only trained healthcare professionals should. Call 999.
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Stop: the NHS advises stopping any sport if you start to feel pain in your hamstrings. Get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful, the swelling or bruising is large or getting worse, or it hurts to walk or stand. Our hamstring strain guide explains what to do next.
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For the first couple of days, avoid heat, massage and alcohol, which can add to the swelling, and keep the knee moving once pain allows. Our quad strain guide covers dead legs.
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Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) if you heard a crack, the joint has changed shape or points at an odd angle, it's numb or tingling, or the skin is blue, grey or cold. Get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful, very swollen, or you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps.
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Go to A&E if you can't move your arm, or the shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape. Don't try to put it back in yourself.
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Go to A&E if a finger points at an odd angle, looks blue or feels numb, or bone can be seen. A chipped or broken tooth needs a dentist: keep any piece in milk or saliva. Call 999 or go to A&E for a nosebleed that won't stop, clear, watery fluid from the nose, a cut that won't stop bleeding, or a bad cut on the face.
The AFL's handbook asks leagues to schedule matches to avoid extreme heat and to allow more breaks. Call 999 if someone is still unwell after 30 minutes of rest, cooling and fluids, or has a very high temperature, hot skin that isn't sweating, a fast heartbeat or breathing, confusion, a fit or loss of consciousness.
If someone is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call 999 or 112, start CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) straight away, and ask a helper to find and bring a defibrillator.
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The AFL says evidence for commercially available headgear is limited, and that certified headgear may reduce impact forces but isn't yet proven to reduce concussions. An earlier trial failed because players wouldn't wear it.
Not in community football: the earliest return to play is day 21, after at least 14 days of graded loading and a doctor's clearance. AFL and AFLW players under club doctors have a 12-day minimum.
The community pilot failed because fewer than half the players did two sessions; those who did had fewer hamstring injuries, though not significantly. Programmes that include the Nordic go with fewer hamstring injuries across sports, though the strictest analyses are uncertain.
Low eccentric strength went with hamstring strains in one AFL cohort, but pooled across studies the test told little about who would be injured. A previous strain is the biggest risk.
In a sub-elite pre-season, players who trained least had the most injuries; sudden spikes in load were what raised the risk.
Rates were about 6 times the AFL's and most happened without contact. Programmes with strength and landing work halve ACL injuries in other sports, and Prep to Play players who did more of the programme had fewer injuries.
The AFL says "Mouthguards should be worn for all Matches and contact training sessions", yet in 1999 only 2 to 40% of players wore one in training.
The data can't settle it: concussion rates in elite Australian football studies alone ranged from 2.24 to 17.63 per 1,000 player hours, because definitions differ, and we found no study comparing the codes on the same measure.
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In community football, under the AFL's May 2026 guidelines, a player with a suspected concussion comes off at once and must see a doctor. After rest and recovery comes a graded loading programme of at least 14 days, a doctor must clear the player before full contact training, and the earliest return to play is day 21. AFL and AFLW players under club doctors have a 12-day minimum.
The AFL says it keeps the 12-day minimum in the AFL and AFLW because they have advanced care settings, with club doctors monitoring each player through 11 steps. Community players don't have that, so the minimum is longer, as in the UK's grassroots guidelines.
The AFL and La Trobe University's injury reduction programme for women and girls in community football: a 10-minute warm-up of 8 activities at every training session and match, at least 5 minutes of contact skills at training, and three strength exercises, each with options A to C. In a trial in 165 teams, coach support more than doubled its use, and players who did more of it had fewer injuries. Our warm-up is built on it.
Keep Nordic and bridge exercises going all season, building up gradually: in a community trial, players stopped doing Nordics, which a review put down to muscle soreness. Include some fast running most weeks rather than sudden spikes, and take extra care after a previous strain, the biggest risk factor.
Women in team sports have about twice men's rate of ACL injury, and in the AFLW's first seasons rates were about 6 times the AFL's. Most happened without contact, often sidestepping while defending, and 80% in pre-season training or the first half of the season. Programmes with strength and landing work halve ACL injuries in other sports.
The AFL strongly recommends mouthguards for all matches and contact training at every level, and says dentally fitted laminated ones protect best; we found no national rule making them compulsory, so check your league. Headgear is optional: the AFL says certified headgear may reduce impact forces but isn't yet proven to reduce concussions.
Build running and strength gradually: in a sub-elite pre-season, aerobic fitness improved most at weekly loads of 1,600 to 2,000 units, players who trained least had the most injuries, and sudden weekly jumps of 15 to 49% raised the risk. Two strength sessions a week, Prep to Play at every session and match-specific training late in pre-season fit the evidence.
Under the AFL's Junior Rules (May 2024), there's no tackling in under-8s, a modified wrap tackle only in under-9s and under-10s, and full tackling and bumping from under-11s. Youth players shouldn't play more than 25 games a season across all their teams, and ideally no more than 2 a week.
In the 2023 AFL season, hamstring strains, concussions, calf strains and illness caused the most missed matches; in the AFLW, concussion, ankle, ACL and shoulder injuries did. In community football, ankle sprains, concussion and ACL injuries are common in women.
At least 21 days, and often longer: the AFL says recovery in players aged 18 and under is often 4 weeks or longer. A child shouldn't return to football until they're back at school or learning, free of symptoms and medically cleared, and shouldn't play other contact sports in the meantime.
Exercise education for people who play sport, not a personal prescription or a diagnosis, and clinical review of these pages is pending. Check with a GP or physiotherapist before hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or an injury that isn't settling, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
