Injuries in International Men’s Sixes Lacrosse: Injury Surveillance of the British Lacrosse Men’s National Team During a 9-Month Training Cycle Leading up to and Including The World Games 2022

Matthew Collier, Nicholas J. Ripley, Tom Wenham, Seth O’Neill

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the injury epidemiology of a men’s national Sixes lacrosse team across training and competition.

DESIGN: Prospective observation study.

METHODS: This study prospectively observed injuries that occurred within a training and competition cycle of the British Men’s National Lacrosse team. Data were collected by the team physiotherapist, injury incidence was calculated, and data categorized into injury type, body part, and mechanism.

RESULTS: Forty-three injuries occurred during Sixes competition. Injury incidence varied between practice and tournaments. Twelve percent of all injuries were time loss. Two thirds of the time, players continued playing following intervention. One in every 5 injuries was treated with self-management strategies. Injuries most frequently occurred in competitive matches (65%). Most injuries were sustained through a contact mechanism (49%) or an overload mechanism (37%). The most frequent injuries were contusions (26%) and muscle injuries (26%). The lower limb was the most frequently injured area (63%), with the lower leg predominantly being the most affected part of the lower limb (63%).

CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first epidemiology study of Sixes lacrosse injuries. Further research is required to better understand the epidemiology and risk factors for injuries in Sixes lacrosse.