John OrchardFACSEPAM (born 1967) is an Australian sport and exercise medicine physician, notable for advocating for rule changes in sport to improve player safety. In 2020, he was awarded a Member of the Order of the Order of Australia for significant service to sports medicine, particularly cricket.[1] He was a member of the Australian government advisory group for sport responding to COVID, representing professional sport as the Chief Medical Officer for Cricket Australia[2] and was instrumental in cricket's response to COVID.[3][4][5][6] He worked as the General Medical Officer for Australia at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[7]
An incident which led to some infamy was his on-field use of a staple gun to close a head laceration sustained by Michael De Vere during a rugby league State of Origin match .[11][12][13][14]
He also was the doctor on the field who responded to Phillip Hughes when he was felled by a cricket ball during a match in 2014,[15] an injury from which the player later died.
Injury prevention advocacy
Australian Football League
He spent over 20 years as the injury surveillance coordinator for the AFL.[16][17] During this time injury surveillance drove many rules changes in the league[18] including the centre-circle line (which reduced the rate of knee posterior cruciate ligament injuries in ruckmen)[19] and reductions in permitted interchange to prevent muscle strains.[20]
John Orchard (doctor)
National Rugby League
As Sydney Roosters doctor, he was outspoken on the need to ban the shoulder charge tackle in the NRL prior to this occurring.[21]
He also had a role in cricket making a boundary rope compulsory after reporting on injuries caused by fence collisions,[32] and was involved in better management of stress fractures in fast bowlers during the 2010s.[33]
Research
He is an academic (Adjunct Professor) at the University of Sydney[34] and has published over 300 research papers with over 20000 citations,[35] with high output of research into cricket injuries.[36][37] He is a co-author on multiple International Olympic Committee consensus expert statements on preventing injuries in sport.[38][39][40][41] He has campaigned for funding to better match evidence in the management of musculoskeletal injuries.[42][43]
Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System (OSIICS)
John Orchard developed a sports injury classification system in 1993 called OSICS. It has been used by multiple sports in Australia,[44] Europe[45] and the USA.[46] In 2020, it was expanded to include further illness codes and adopted as one of two recommended systems by the International Olympic Committee.[47]
↑ Orchard, John W.; Seward, Hugh; Orchard, Jessica J. (April 2013). "Results of 2 decades of injury surveillance and public release of data in the Australian Football League". The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 41 (4): 734–741. doi:10.1177/0363546513476270. ISSN1552-3365. PMID23460329. S2CID45592953.
↑ Orchard, J. W.; Seward, H. (December 2009). "Decreased incidence of knee posterior cruciate ligament injury in Australian Football League after ruck rule change". British Journal of Sports Medicine. 43 (13): 1026–1030. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2009.063123. ISSN1473-0480. PMID19850572. S2CID21771432.
↑ Orchard, John W.; Driscoll, Tim; Seward, Hugh; Orchard, Jessica J. (May 2012). "Relationship between interchange usage and risk of hamstring injuries in the Australian Football League". Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 15 (3): 201–206. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2011.11.250. ISSN1878-1861. PMID22197066.
↑ Olivier, Benita; Orchard, John W. (2025). "Personal Reflections on the Emergence of Cricket Sports Medicine and Lumbar Stress Fracture Management in Australia". Cricket Sports Medicine (1st 2025ed.). Singapore: Springer Nature. pp.321–329. ISBN978-981-96-6321-7.
↑ Hammond, LE; Lilley, J; Ribbans, WJ (July 2009). "Coding sports injury surveillance data: has version 10 of the Orchard Sports Injury Classification System improved the classification of sports medicine diagnoses?". British Journal of Sports Medicine. 43 (7): 498–502. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.051979. PMID19050000. S2CID24330003.
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