The Epidemiology of Injuries in Australian Professional Rugby Union 2014 Super Rugby Competition

Abstract

Background:Rugby union is a collision-based ball sport played at the professional level internationally. Rugby union has one of the highest reported incidences of injury of all team sports.Purpose:To identify the characteristics, incidence, and severity of injuries occurring in Australian professional Super Rugby Union.Design:Descriptive epidemiology study.Methods:The present study was a prospective epidemiology study on a cohort of 180 professional players from 5 Australian Super Rugby teams during the 2014 Super Rugby Union Tournament. Team medical staff collected and submitted daily training and match-play injury data through a secure, web-based electronic platform. The injury data included the main anatomic location of the injury, specific anatomic structure of the injury, injury diagnosis, training or match injury occurrence, main player position, mechanism of injury, and the severity of the injury quantified based on the number of days lost from training and/or competition due to injury.Results:The total combined incidence rate for injury during training and match-play across all Australian Super Rugby Union teams was 6.96 per 1000 hours, with a mean injury severity of 37.45 days lost from training and competition. The match-play injury incidence rate was 66.07 per 1000 hours, with a mean severity of 39.80 days lost from training and competition. No significant differences were observed between forward- and back-playing positions for match or training injury incidence rate or severity.Conclusion:The incidence of injury for the present study was lower during match-play than has previously been reported in professional rugby union; however, the overall time loss was higher compared with previous studies in professional rugby union. The high overall time loss was due fundamentally to a high incidence of injuries with greater than 28 days’ severity.

Match injury incidence during the Super Rugby tournament is high: a prospective cohort study over five seasons involving 93 641 player-hours

“…In five South African teams during the 2012 season, the match injury incidence was similar to the meta-analysis (83 per 1000 player-hours), but presented a lower overall severity profile 5. In five Australian teams during the 2014 season, the match injury incidence was lower (66 per 1000 player-hours), but the number of severe injuries (resulting in more than 28 days of time loss) was higher 6. These two studies are however limited because they documented injuries in only a single season.…”

“…The main findings of this study in South African professional men’s rugby union teams over five seasons of the Super Rugby tournament (2012–2016) were as follows1: the overall incidence of time loss injuries was 10.0 per 1000 player-hours2; match injury incidence (99.9 per 1000 hours) was 62 times higher than training injury incidence (1.6 per 1000 hours)3; about 50% of all players can be expected to suffer a time loss injury each season, with almost a third expected to incur an injury resulting in 8 or more days of time loss and one in eight players sustaining a severe injury (>28 days of time loss)4; the match IB over the 5-year period was 1796 with a tendency to increase over the 5-year study period5; the overall incidence of injury between forwards and backs was not significantly different6; moderate and severe injuries accounted for 38% of match injuries and 42% of training injuries7; the severity profile was similar between match and training injuries8; 50% of match injuries affected the lower limb9; incidence was highest for the thigh (13.1 per 1000 player-hours), knee (13.1), shoulder/clavicle (12.9) and head/face (11.7)10; the majority of injuries involved muscles/tendons (47%) and joints/ligaments (32%)11; there has been an increase in head/face and brain/CNS injury incidence since 201412; most injuries occur in contact situations (79%) and more than half occur during a tackle (54%).…”

Ankle Injuries in Sports: Anatomical Considerations and Clinical Implications

“…Lower extremities are the most susceptible body part during training and competition (Jakoet & Noakes 1998;Sankey et al 2008;Palmer-Green et al 2015;Whitehouse et al 2016). Out of 416 players observed during 1995 Rugby World Cup, 42% of the injuries involved lower limb followed by 29% in upper limb and 17% on the face.…”

“…Of all injuries in the lower limb, 53% of injuries occurred during tackling, 23% during the ruck and maul, 11% during open play and 9% during foul play (Jakoet & Noakes 1998). According to researchers, ankle injury (9.3%) is the third commonly occurring injury following knee injuries (16.1%) and thigh (14.3%) (Whitehouse et al 2016). …”

Reduced severity of lumbo-pelvic-hip injuries in professional Rugby Union players following tailored preventative programmes

“…This can be reported as 'severity' defined as the number of days lost from competition and practice 8 . Rugby Union players who sustained LPH injury can expect to lose on average 61 days when the injury occurs during training compared to 83 days 9 when it occurs during competition. Like all injuries sustained the consequences extend beyond time loss and include: significant financial costs (including medical and loss of earning), and may also impact team performance.…”