A 2-year prospective study of injury epidemiology in elite A 2-year prospective study of injury epidemiology in elite Australian rugby sevens: Exploration of incidence rates, severity, Australian rugby sevens: Exploration of incidence rates, severity, injury type, and subsequent injury in men and women injury type, and subsequent injury in men and women A 2-year prospective study of injury epidemiology in elite Australian rugby sevens: Exploration of incidence rates, severity, injury type, and subsequent injury in men and women.A two-year prospective study of injury epidemiology in elite Australian rugby sevens: exploration of 1 incidence rates, severity, injury type and subsequent injury in men and women 2 2 ABSTRACT 1 Background: Injuries are common in rugby sevens but studies to date have been limited to short, non-2 continuous time periods, and reporting of match injuries only.
3Purpose: To report the injury incidence rate (IIR), severity and burden of injuries sustained by men and women 4 in the Australian rugby sevens program; and to provide the first longitudinal investigation of subsequent injury 5 occurrence in rugby sevens, looking beyond tournament-injuries only. 6 Study design: Descriptive longitudinal epidemiology study.7Methods: 90 international rugby sevens players (55 men and 35 women) were prospectively followed over two 8 consecutive seasons (2015-16 and 2016-2017). All medical attention injuries were reported irrespective of time-9 loss. Individual exposure, in terms of minutes, distance and high speed distance, was captured for each player 10 for matches and on-field training using global positioning system (GPS) devices. The IIR and injury burden (IIR 11x days lost to injury) were calculated per 1000 player hours, and descriptive analyses performed.
12Results: 73 players (81.1%) sustained 365 injuries at an IIR of 43.2 per 1000 player hours (95%CI 38.8-47.8).
13Female players experienced a lower but non-significant IIR compared to male players (incidence rate ratio 14 (IRR)=0.91, 95%CI=0.73 to 1.12). Female players sustained a higher proportion of injuries to the trunk region 15 (relative risk (RR)=1.75, 95%CI=1.28 to 2.40) but a lower number to the head/neck region (RR=0.58,
1695%CI=0.37 to 0.93, p=0.011) compared to male players. The majority (80.7%) of subsequent injuries were of a 17 different site and different nature to previous injuries. A trend towards a reduced number of days, participation 18 time, distance and high speed distance completed prior to the next injury was observed following successive 19 injury occurrence.
20Conclusions: A trend for a lower IIR was observed for female players compared to male players, with variation 21 of injury profiles observed between sexes. Subsequent injuries account for the majority of injuries sustained in 22 rugby sevens, and are typically different to previous types of injuries that have been sustained. Following each 23 successive injury, the risk profile for future injury occurrence appears to be altered, which warrants further 24 investigat...
