Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention

Being active leads to lifelong health benefits, but only if it is injury free.

Every year around one million Australians are injured playing sport or undertaking recreational activities.

The Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention (ACRISP) leads Australian research into the causes of sports injury, and strategies to prevent these injuries. We also focus on translating this knowledge to ensure changes in safety behaviours and environments.

Our innovative research program covers the full spectrum of injuries that happen during sport, physical activity or active recreation. This means our findings are relevant to everyone - from elite athletes to community sports participants or people participating in leisure pursuits. We also conduct research relevant to groups that provide sport and recreational activities, including national and state sports governing bodies, regional sports associations, community clubs and all levels of government.

Our research team has qualifications and specialist training in statistics, behavioural psychology, epidemiology, health promotion and physiotherapy.

We are one of only four designated International Olympic Committee (IOC) centres for research into the prevention of injury and protection of athlete health around the world. The four lead researchers are Professor Caroline Finch, Professor Jill Cook (Monash University School of Physiotherapy) and Adjunct Senior Research Fellows Associate Professor Paul McCrory and Dr Andrew McIntosh.

We foster strong collaborative links with researchers from other parts of Monash University (including Professor Jill Cook from the School of Physiotherapy, and Associate Professor Belinda Gabbe, of the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine) and other universities including Professor David Lloyd from Griffith University.

NoGAPS

They say necessity is the mother of invention. In this case, a group of researchers and policymakers felt an overwhelming need to get our knowledge of how to prevent sports-related injuries out to those who can really use it. The result is NoGAPS (National Guidance for Australian Football Partnerships and Safety) - a partnership between researchers, the AFL and an important body of stakeholders who want to put an end to needless sporting injuries.

Over the next few years the NoGAPS partners will work together to identify factors that influence the translation of research evidence into sports injury prevention. The study will focus on community Australian Football clubs because we know this is where many preventable injuries are taking place.

The project is funded by an NHMRC Partnerships Project Grant with additional support (both cash and in-kind) from key partners:

• Australian Football League (AFL)
• Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth)
• NSW Sporting Injuries Committee (NSWSIC)
• JLT Sport, a division of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Australia Pty Ltd (JLT Sport)
• Department of Planning and Community Development - Sport and Recreation Victoria Division (SRV)
• Sports Medicine Australia - national and Victorian branches (SMA).

The project, which will be conducted over 2010-2013, aims to identify factors that influence the translation of injury prevention interventions into practice in community sport. It will also provide specific evidence for the effectiveness of an evidence-based exercise-training program for lower limb injury prevention in community Australian Football.