Injury surveillance in a rugby tournament
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Date
1996
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
British Journal of Sports Medicine
Abstract
Objective-To investigate injuries in international rugby football.
Methods-All injuries that led to temporary stoppage of the game or to the substitution of a player during the Rugby World Cup qualifying tournament were recorded. Six matches were played, involving the Arabian Gulf, Kenya, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
Results-47 injuries were recorded, giving an injury rate of eight per match. The number of injuries decreased from 38-3% in the first matches to 23-4% in the final
ones. The most serious injury was a concussion and the majority of the injuries
affected soft tissues. Anatomically, the lower limbs suffered most injuries (46-80/6),
followed by the head (21-3%), trunk (17-0%), and upper limbs (12-8%). Slightly
more injuries occurred in the defensive half of the field of play (53-2%) than in
the offensive half (46.8%). More injuries occurred in the second half (61-7%) than
in the first half (38.3%).
Conclusions-Protective equipment should be introduced to miniimise the number and seriousness of injuries in rugby.
Description
Keywords
Injuries, Rugby football.
Citation
Wekesa,M., Asembo, J.M., Njororai, W.W.S. Injury surveillance in a rugby tournament. BrJ Sports Med 1996;30:61-63