Where netballers get hurt, and when
Downs and colleagues pooled 46 studies, nearly three quarters of them from Australia or New Zealand. Ankle and knee injuries were the most common, though the share varied widely between studies (ankle 13–84% of injuries, knee 8–50%). Children had more upper-limb injuries such as fractures, while adults had more lower-limb ankle and knee sprains and strains. The review is blunt about its own limits: injury definitions were inconsistent and very little of the data came from recreational players, who make up most of the sport.
A prospective study of an Australian community netball club followed 269 players aged 7 to 42 over a season. There were 169 injuries, a rate of 13.8 per 1,000 hours of exposure, and about 60% were to the lower limb. Collisions (28%) and awkward landings (27%) were the most common mechanisms, and half of all injuries meant the player could not continue playing or training.
The same study found the strongest predictor of a lower-limb injury that season was having been injured before (odds ratio 6.9), with age over 13.5 years also a risk factor (odds ratio 3.1). Those are wide-interval figures from a single club, so treat them as a direction rather than a forecast, but they match what we see: the netballer who sprained an ankle last season and never rehabbed it properly is the one back in clinic this season.
Landing is the moment the knee is most at risk
A systematic review of non-contact knee injury in netball (six studies, a combined sample of 11,401 players) found that landing accounted for 46.6% of all knee injuries, and that the knee collapsing inward (valgus collapse) was the most commonly observed mechanism. Only one of the six studies reported both the situation and the mechanism, so the authors were careful to say firm conclusions are not yet possible, but the pattern looks similar to other female team sports.
This is why a 2025 consensus project in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which combined a systematic review of 17 studies with a three-round expert Delphi process, rated poor landing technique and mechanics the single highest priority risk factor to mitigate in women’s netball (median rating 5 out of 5, while every other risk factor rated 3 to 4.5). Sixty-one risk factors reached consensus overall, spanning individual characteristics, lifestyle, training and competition load, medical provision and facilities, which is a fair reminder that no single drill fixes this.
How we assess a netball injury in Daisy Hill
We start with what happened: was it a landing, a collision, a change of direction, or a gradual build-up? Then we look at the joint itself, the muscles around it and, importantly, how you land and decelerate, because that is the part that follows you back onto the court. We ask about every previous ankle and knee injury and what rehab it got. Where it changes what we recommend, our VALD force-plate and dynamometry testing gives us side-to-side strength and landing symmetry rather than relying on whether the joint feels fine.
Most ankle injuries are sprains that respond well to progressive loading (see our ankle sprain page), and ligament and cartilage knee injuries are covered on our knee physio page. A sore ankle that cannot take weight, a knee that gave way and swelled quickly, or any deformity should be checked by a doctor first; we will tell you plainly if you need imaging.
Netball injuries at a glance
Ankle and knee are the most commonly injured joints in netball · Landings, collisions and falls are the main circumstances of injury · Landing accounted for 46.6% of non-contact knee injuries in one systematic review · A previous injury was the strongest risk factor in an Australian community club (odds ratio 6.9) · Experts rate poor landing mechanics the top priority to fix · Seek medical review for a knee or ankle that cannot bear weight, locks, or swells rapidly.
What netball rehab involves here
Early on, the aim is to settle pain and restore movement without resting the joint into weakness. From there rehab becomes strength and control work: calf, hip and thigh strength, balance on one leg, then jumping, landing and cutting drills built up in stages. All of it runs in our gym-based rehab space, which is where the later phases belong.
We set return-to-court criteria rather than a date: pain-free hopping and landing, comparable strength side to side, and confidence in cutting and rebounding. Because we cannot promise any program prevents the next injury, we plan the first few games back instead, covering minutes, position and what to do if the joint flares. Load across a season matters too, as covered in our guide to winter sports injury prevention.
Paying for netball injury rehab in Logan
Private patients can claim on the spot through HICAPS — see our physiotherapy fees page. Where an ongoing problem is managed under a GP chronic condition management plan, Medicare rebates item 10960 at $63.40 from 1 July 2026, for up to five allied health visits a calendar year pooled across professions — see our Medicare physiotherapy page. Injuries at work or from a car accident are handled through WorkCover and CTP pathways, DVA card holders are billed directly for accepted conditions, and NDIS participants on plan-managed or self-managed plans can use their funding with us.
Book a netball injury assessment in Daisy Hill
Daisy Hill Physio is at Unit 4, 11–13 Allamanda Drive, Daisy Hill QLD 4127 — in Logan City, Queensland, Australia (not Logan, Utah) — and sees netballers from Springwood, Shailer Park, Slacks Creek, Underwood, Rochedale South, Kingston, Loganholme and across Logan. Book online or call 07 3209 2000 and tell reception which joint and when it happened. Physiotherapist Arvin Benzon leads much of our return-to-sport and load-management work; meet the whole team on our team page or read how to choose a physio in Logan.
Reviewed by Arvin Benzon, Physiotherapist, Daisy Hill Physio. Content current at 13 October 2026. This page is general information, not a diagnosis — see a physiotherapist or GP for advice about your own situation.
Sources: Downs C, Snodgrass SJ, Weerasekara I, Valkenborghs SR, Callister R. Injuries in netball — a systematic review. Sports Med Open 2021;7:3 · Mullally EM, Atack AC, Glaister M, Clark NC. Situations and mechanisms of non-contact knee injury in adult netball: a systematic review. Phys Ther Sport 2021;47:193–200 · Franettovich Smith MM, Mendis MD, Parker A, et al. Injury surveillance of an Australian community netball club. Phys Ther Sport 2020;44:41–46 · Whitehead S, Mackay L, Jones B, et al. Injury risk factors and their priority for mitigation in women’s netball: a systematic review and Delphi consensus. Br J Sports Med 2025;59:294–305. Accessed 13 October 2026.
