Key result
The 2017 NCAA practice rule changes were associated with a decrease in lower extremity muscle strains from 1.00 to 0.55 injuries per session.
Why the study?
In 2017, the NCAA implemented rule changes to enhance safety in college football, but the effect on injury risk remained unclear.
Do the 2017 NCAA practice rule changes reduce the number and rate of injuries in an NCAA Division II football team?
Observational
No
Do the 2017 NCAA practice rule changes reduce the number and rate of injuries in an NCAA Division II football team?
The 2017 NCAA practice rule changes were associated with a reduction in the number and severity of lower extremity muscle strains during preseason football.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May support 2017 NCAA rules for fewer LE strains; leaves open generalizability beyond one Division II team.
In 2017, the NCAA implemented rule changes to enhance safety in college football; however, the effect on injury risk remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to observe differences in the number and rate of injuries and time-loss injuries in an NCAA Division II football team during two consecutive preseasons, before and after the rule changes. From 2016 to 2017, we observed a decrease in lower extremity (LE) muscle strains from 1.00 injury/session to 0.55 injuries/session. We also observed a decrease in time-loss LE muscle strains from 0.52 injuries/session in 2016 to 0.20 injuries/session in 2017. After the rule changes, we observed fewer time-loss injuries (14.06% decrease), acute LE strains (45.00% decrease), and time-loss LE strains (61.54% decrease) per preseason practice session. These findings suggest that the rule changes may help reduce both the number and severity of LE muscle strains during preseason football.
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Smith et al. (2019) conducted an observational in Preseason football injuries. 2017 NCAA practice rule changes vs. 2016 preseason (before rule changes) was evaluated on Lower extremity (LE) muscle strains per session. The 2017 NCAA practice rule changes were associated with a decrease in lower extremity muscle strains from 1.00 to 0.55 injuries per session.
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