Every
year the ISEH and the Princess Grace Hospital support the NFL in
coordinating the entire medical care of the teams and NFL staff visiting
London for the international series, now a regular part of the NFL
calendar. Led by the London NFL Chief Medical Officer, Professor Haddad, this involves a significant degree of pre-planning plus ensuring on game day every eventuality has been carefully thought-out. One key role is to ensure protocols are in place which satisfy both the NFL and meet the standards of care afforded to elite athletes in the UK.
Background to the NFL
The National Football League is the most popular sports league in the US and is a franchise made up of 32 teams, divided into National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL season starts in early September and ends in early January, with each team playing 16 games based on strict scheduling algorithm. Regular season games have been held in London since 2007, which has now expanded to 3 games per year. The top teams in each division at the end of the season then enter a playoff which culminates in the Superbowl.
NFL teams/Injuries
Each NFL team has about 53 players in a squad, of which only 46 can be picked for a game. The squad is divided into offence, defence and special teams, with 11 players per team on the field at any given time. The average game last 3 hours and 12 minutes.
By comparison to other major sports NFL players are statistically the heaviest athletes, with an average weight of 120kg and height of 183 cm, so it’s not surprising that injuries are common. 50% of injuries are in the lower limb (ACL, MCL, meniscus, fractures etc), 9% are ankle and foot (sprains, turf toe etc), 16% Neck and spine, 17% shoulder/Arm and 7% concussion. The rate of concussion has been a controversial issue for the NFL, especially with recent claims of long term neurological damage. With in mind the NFL created a head neck and spine committee which investigate rule changes, and have invested heavily in R&D around the diagnosis, management, treatment and injury prevention.
Medical support on match day in London
Each NFL game in the US will have at least 27 medical professional present, including 2 orthopaedic surgeons, 2 primary care physicians, 2 unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants, plus the stadium medical crew. Our role in London is to recreate this set-up, plus ensure robust pathways for catastrophic injury, cardiac arrest, neuro-trauma, and isolated MSK injury requiring hospital treatment
For those unfamiliar with the sport we would encourage you to watch, once you learn the basic rules it make for great viewing, and for the games in London lookout for one of the many Institute staff that will be on the side lines.