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Shoulder range of motion tests were reliable when applied by the same examiner. Inter-examiner reliability was acceptable for all tests except IR, which was affected by inconsistent manual scapula stabilisation between examiners.

Objective: To investigate mechanisms of shoulder girdle injuries and their impact on players from the Australian Football League (AFL). Design: Retrospective video analysis. Methods: Two experienced sports physiotherapists (>10 years) examined video footage of shoulder complex injuries that occurred in the 2015 premiership season. Information obtained from video footage included activity prior to injury; mechanism of injury; arm, head and neck position and point of body contact at the time of injury. Player demographics and injury characteristics were obtained from club and media data. Results: The most common mechanism of injury was lateral contact (34.6%) followed by hyperflexion/ abduction of the shoulder (19.2%). Glenohumeral joint (GHJ) dislocations and subluxations were the most frequent diagnosis for all mechanisms of injury, and occurred in a variety of shoulder positions. Over 80% of injuries occurred with the arm below 100 • of shoulder flexion or abduction. The most common activity prior to injury was 'ball in dispute' (34.6%). Lateral contact injuries had the highest overall severity (twothirds of players missed >3 games) and over 50% of shoulder injuries required surgery. Players missed on average 5.1 season games due to shoulder injury. Conclusion:The lateral contact mechanism was the most common and severe mechanism of shoulder injury. Improved understanding of shoulder girdle injury mechanisms can help guide the use of preventative strategies and injury management programs in elite AFL players.

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The burden of injuries sustained in community Australian football is largely unknown due to the lack of viable injury surveillance methods. The use of novel methods such as automated text messaging (SMS) combined with online surveys for new injury registrations has not been evaluated in community sport. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an automated method for injury surveillance. A total of 207 players, from 10 community clubs, consented to receiving post‐game text messages regarding training exposure and injuries during the preceding week, for 20 weeks. In addition to responding via SMS messaging, players completed hyperlinked online surveys to enter new injury details. Outcome variables included the injury incidence rates, players’ responses rates, response times, the number of complete injury records, and time burden for the participants and researchers. The incidence rate was 11.6 injuries per 1000 player hours (95% CI: 10.0‐13.5). The feasibility measures established (a) average weekly response rates of 74.1% (range 61.7%‐91.5%); (b) fast response times to SMS messages (62% within an hour); (c) moderate to high completeness of injury records (85.2%); (d) short time requirements to complete the online survey (2 minutes); and (e) researcher time saved by automation (28.8 hours less time to collect injury data). The automated method was found to be a feasible method of injury surveillance in community sport. While the completeness of injury records could be improved, the method has the potential to allow for wide‐scale injury surveillance within community Australian football.

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