AFLW news: Sports medicine clinician Peter Brukner on ACL injuries after stars go down in Round 1
A leading sports doctor says the way AFLW players are suffering ACL injuries has changed. But what’s the problem? He answers the question everyone is asking.
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A leading sports doctor says the way AFLW players are suffering anterior cruciate ligament injuries has changed.
But top sports medicine clinician Peter Brukner is still unsure why so many women are continuing to rupture ligaments.
The spate of knee injuries was brought back into focus after three of the league’s best players suffered season-ending injuries in Round 1.
Collingwood co-captain Brianna Davey, Western Bulldogs star Izzy Huntington and gun Brisbane defender Kate Lutkins all went down with ACL injuries.
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“It happens every year, particularly at the start of the season in the first two rounds,” Brukner said.
“It may have something to do with harder grounds.
“It may have something to do with a move from training to games and the lift in intensity. The fact the players are fresh and not fatigued at all, they are probably going harder than they would at the end of the season.
“Interestingly it has been the same historically for men.”
In the initial AFLW seasons, Brukner noted a majority of the ACL injuries occurred during marking contests and aerial situations. But he said more recent cases arose from players changing direction and the increased pace of the game.
Brukner said there had been numerous theories floated for why ACL injuries in female players were a lot more common.
“Women have broader hips, so the angle of their thigh bone and shin bone at the knee is more, so they are more inclined to fall in on that mechanism that tears your cruciate, so that is one possibility,” he said.
“There’s a theory around hormones, but no one has been never able to pin that down … different phases of the menstrual cycle, but no one has been able to pin that down.
“We basically don’t have the answers and if we did we might be able to do something about it. The clubs are doing a lot of work in that space.”
AFLW clubs have a standard prevention program in which players are taught how to land to prevent ACL injuries and employ other techniques to prevent them.
But Brukner said potentially the increase in the pace and intensity of the game meant the program was not 100 per cent successful.
“I was watching games on the weekend and I was like ‘oh, wow, this is much different to what it was three or four years ago’,”
he said.
Not ready? Injured Pies star ponders AFLW’s next move
Collingwood co-captain Brianna Davey says she is unsure what can be done to stop the amount of ACL injuries in the AFLW as she prepares for surgery.
It was confirmed on Monday that Davey, 26, has suffered her second ACL tear after she went down in the Pies season opener against Carlton on Sunday.
It was in the same knee that Davey injured in 2018.
It comes as Western Bulldogs star Izzy Huntington also suffered an ACL injury - the 22-year-old’s third – on the weekend while, on Tuesday, Brisbane gun defender Kate Lutkins was also ruled out for the rest of the season with a serious knee injury, bringing the confirmed number of ACLs from the opening round of the season to three.
Davey said she had been thinking of how the league could help the prevention of them.
“I think it is one of those things you can do prevention and things like that,” she said on SEN.
“It’s not going to always stop it I guess, but for us there have been different things thrown out there.
“I probably don’t know enough to throw out a solid answer but I know there have been things like giving us a longer conditioning period where we can get ourselves ready for games.
“Whether that is more practice matches and we have a longer training block, things like that where we can condition our bodies and get them ready.
“I’ve thought a lot about this and why it is happening and some times I’ve thought that it’s because we have girls coming from local footy into a professional environment
“But then we have girls like Erin Phillips (basketball) and myself (soccer) coming from elite backgrounds and we are doing our knees as well.
“So it’s a really tough one.”
Davey said she had reached out to both Huntington and Lutkins after seeing them go down.
“Yeah so I’ve spoken to both of them actually, Izzy more recently because I heard about her knee and she heard about mine so we texted each other,” she said.
“And the same with Katie when I heard that she went down I messaged her instantly and we had a bit of a chat.
“The great thing about AFLW is that there’s a lot of love and care about each other and we are mates as well.”
While Davey got the results on Monday, she said she was pretty sure she had done her knee again as soon as it happened.
“It was just that instant pain and once it settled I was able to get up,” she said.
“But I did know at the time and the tears then were more emotion than the actual physical pain.”
The spate of knee injuries in Round 1 has reignited debate about what can be done in the AFLW competition to try and prevent them.
Renowned sports medico Dr Peter Larkins said it was “really concerning”.
Davey will have surgery on her knee when the swelling goes down.
The Lions have also lost tall forward Dakota Davidson for at least the next month after she suffered a foot sprain in their season opener last weekend.
Both Lutkins and Davidson were crucial in Brisbane’s AFLW premiership win in 2021 and the club’s head of women’s football Breanna Brock confirmed the worst on Tuesday morning.
“It’s obviously difficult news for Kate and the club, and we’ll rally around her to provide her with our full support during her recovery,” Brock said.
“Kate’s got a great support network of family and friends keeping her spirits high, and she’s already looking forward to the challenges that rehabilitation will bring.
“It’s an unfortunate injury for Dakota, but she’s in good spirits and we’re hoping she can tackle her rehab head on to return to play sooner rather than later.”
Worried doctor says AFLW knee injuries at critical level
- Nick Smart, Dylan Bolch, James Mottershead
A spike in knee ACL injuries in the AFLW in comparison to other sports played by females has been described by a leading sports doctor as “really concerning” following a weekend of carnage.
It was confirmed on Monday that Western Bulldogs star Izzy Huntington and Collingwood co-captain Brianna Davey both suffered ACL injuries in the first round of the season.
It is Huntington’s third ACL rupture at the age of just 22.
“We are absolutely devastated for Izzy, she is a much-loved figure at the Kennel and everyone is well aware of her injury battles, so we’re just heartbroken for her,” Bulldogs general manager of women’s football Debbie Lee said.
At Collingwood, this is Davey’s second ACL tear on the same knee she injured in 2018.
The Magpies star has also torn her medial ligament.
“We are all heartbroken for Bri,” Magpies women’s football boss Jess Burger said.
“It’s very hard to see our captain go down with such a cruel injury, let alone someone who is at the top of their game.
“There is no doubt her injury has been felt not just within our team, but across the entire AFLW community.”
Brisbane Lion Kate Lutkins is also believed to have suffered a serious knee injury from the opening round, but is still awaiting confirmation.
Renowned sports medico Dr Peter Larkins said it was an ongoing issue and particularly for AFLW players.
“When I gave a talk last year, I talked about how the knee ACL surge was happening in women’s sport, and women have a five or six times higher incidence of knee ACL’s than men,” he said.
“Except in the AFL, where it has been 10 times higher since 2016.
“AFL even has higher problems than soccer or netball or basketball, or in other words the sports that women still play and injure their knee.
“So, there is something specific about the demands and the changes of direction, but things like the muscular strength around the knee is different in women.
“Things like the anatomy, the shape of the leg, the hormonal changes are the same in every sport, and so the AFL incidents are really concerning.
“The data I showed last year was the 2020 data, which in the AFL men’s season over the past 22 years we’ve averaged 13.5 ACL injuries across all the men’s clubs.
“In the women’s season we had 14 ACL’s in five weeks.”
Dr Larkins said they were techniques AFLW clubs could use to lessen the risk of serious knee injury.
“You can’t change the game, so you’ve got to change the individual factors around strength, landing techniques, learning how to fall when they’re tackled,” he said.
“What women need to be doing is more pre-seasons of strength and specifically on the stabiliser muscles around the knee and the hip.”
AFLW misery as season ends for two injured heavyweights
Scans have confirmed that Western Bulldogs star forward Isabel Huntington has ruptured her right ACL, while Collingwood co-captain Brianna Davey has ruptured her ACL and MCL in her right knee.
Huntington suffered the injury during the second quarter of Saturday’s Round 1 loss to Melbourne and scans also confirmed that her lateral meniscus is damaged too.
The 26-year-old Davey sustained the injury late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 19-point victory over Carlton at Ikon Park.
It is Davey’s second ACL injury, having suffered a rupture to the same knee in 2018, while it is the third ACL rupture for the 22-year-old Doggie.
“We are absolutely devastated for Izzy — she is a much-loved figure at the Kennel, and everyone is well aware of her injury battles, so we’re just heartbroken for her,” Dogs general manager of Women’s Football Debbie Lee said.
Huntington’s career has been plagued by knee issues so far, having played just 20 matches for the Dogs to date.
When fit and firing, Huntington is one of the most promising talents in the competition. She finished third in the Bulldogs’ best and fairest count last year and was named the NAB AFLW Rising Star in 2020 while also receiving an All Australian selection.
“Izzy is a true professional though, and having been through this twice before she will know what’s required of her,” Lee said.
“As a club, we’ll continue to support her and the family in any way we can.”
Huntington will see a surgeon later this week to look at treatment options moving forward.
The Davey setback is a bitter blow for the Pies, who now will be without one of their star players for the rest of the 2022 season.
Davey is one of the competition’s best players and was awarded the AFLW’s best and fairest medal last season.
Collingwood’s Head of Women’s Football, Jess Burger, said the entire program is devastated for Davey.
“We are all heartbroken for Bri,” Burger said.
“It’s very hard to see our captain go down with such a cruel injury, let alone someone who is at the top of their game. There is no doubt her injury has been felt not just within our team, but across the entire AFLW community.
Despite the injury, Burger said that Davey “knows what it takes to get herself back to being regarded as one of the competition’s best”.
“Once the rawness and reality of the injury sets in, we have no doubt she’ll commence her rehabilitation in the pursuit of reclaiming her on-field best.
“Bri will continue to play a key role in leading this team from the sidelines this season and our entire program will wrap our arms around her during this difficult time.”
Davey will consult a surgeon later this week.
Brisbane Lion Kate Lutkins is also believed to have suffered an ACL, but awaiting confirmation.
Injured Pies great hoping ‘feeling’ means positive outcome
Bri Davey’s season hangs in the balance after suffering what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the dying moments of Collingwood’s 19-point win over Carlton.
Last season’s joint AFLW best and fairest winner, Davey, went down clutching her right knee as she tried to change direction when chasing Carlton debutant Paige Trudgeon.
Collingwood coach Steve Symonds said Davey will have scans on Monday to confirm the extent of the injury.
“There are mixed emotions for everyone at the moment, but she’s getting it assessed at the moment and will have some scans tomorrow to confirm where things sit,” Symonds said.
Symonds said the injury had soured the Pies’ resounding win over their arch-enemy and all of his players were feeling the blow.
“It’s a mixed mood in the changerooms at the moment,” he said. “We’ve come here and had a win and started the season off on a positive note.
“But we’ve got a close connection within our playing group in particular. The mood was really sombre in there for a start.
“We’ve got a theme of family inside our club and straight away it’s like a family member has gone down, so it’s a little bit sombre at the moment. They’re all getting around Bri at the moment.”
Davey, just four days out from her 27th birthday, suffered an ACL injury in 2018 when she was playing for the Blues.
Symonds said the ball magnet believes this injury feels different to that injury four years ago.
“Bri doesn’t know really, she’s done one before, so obviously she knows what that feels like and said this one felt a little bit different so fingers crossed it is,” he said.
The Collingwood coach revealed one of the focuses of his team over the off-season was to build greater midfield depth after his star trio of Davey, Jaimee Lambert and Britt Bonnici carried the Pies last season.
He earmarked young midfielders Tarni Brown and Mikala Cann, and utility Ebony O’Dea as replacements for Davey.
“We have a couple of girls who can come in,” he said. “Tarni Brown has taken some really strong strides and we played her in the midfield and up forward today.
“Mikala Cann is another one who has had a super pre-season and she’s growing as a midfielder as well.
“Ebony O’Dea was released from the midfield group today to play back, and Ebs is more than capable of coming into the midfield.”
Carlton coach Daniel Harford said the injury to Davey was “the worst possible outcome for the competition”.
“There was Izzy (Huntington) last night which looked pretty ordinary, and then Bri today late,” Harford said.
“Two of the big guns in the competition have been hit early and we don’t want to see it.”
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