Epidemiology of rugby injuries sustained by Free State University hostel-league players during the 2003 rugby season

Background: Rugby results in more hospitalisations and visits to the emergency rooms of hospitals than any other sport. It is also the sport with the highest injury rate. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and profile of the rugby injuries that were sustained by hostel-league rugby...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jaclyn Mahaffey, Jeannine Owen, Leigh Owen, Ockie van Schalkwyk, Nicholas Theron, Gina Joubert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2006-09-01
Series:South African Family Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/428
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849339912623489024
author Jaclyn Mahaffey
Jeannine Owen
Leigh Owen
Ockie van Schalkwyk
Nicholas Theron
Gina Joubert
author_facet Jaclyn Mahaffey
Jeannine Owen
Leigh Owen
Ockie van Schalkwyk
Nicholas Theron
Gina Joubert
author_sort Jaclyn Mahaffey
collection DOAJ
description Background: Rugby results in more hospitalisations and visits to the emergency rooms of hospitals than any other sport. It is also the sport with the highest injury rate. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and profile of the rugby injuries that were sustained by hostel-league rugby players at the University of the Free state. Methods: This analytical prospective cohort study included all the rugby players playing in the Free state University Rugby Hostel League in the 2003 rugby season. Throughout the rugby season, the rugby coaches documented the dates of each practice session, the duration of each practice and the players present at each practice and each match. The captains reported the injuries in their teams. Each player also personally completed a separate injury form for each injury. All the players who had been injured gave informed, written consent for their data to be used. The protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free state. The main outcome measures were the incidence of injury, injury risk per 100 hours played and the profile of the injuries. Results: The results of only four of the six hostels are reported due to a lack of cooperation from the other two hostels. Fifty-eight (26.4%) of the 220 players were injured during the season, with 61 injuries being recorded, three of the players being injured twice. The incidence of the injuries ranged from 21.4% to 32% per hostel. Forty per cent of the injured players had also been injured during the previous season. Only three hostels had sufficient information for their risk per time exposure to be calculated. The risk was 0.4, 6.2 and 6.3 per 1 000 hours of exposure. The overall risk of injury per 1 000 hours of rugby played was 5.3. The majority of injuries occurred in the first league and in the lower limbs, with the most common type of injury involving ligaments. Most injuries were caused by tackling. The occurrence of injuries took place evenly throughout both halves of the matches. One date and one time interval during the rugby season stood out due to the high incidence of injuries sustained: on 9 May 2003, 10 injuries were sustained, eight in a game between the first teams of two hostels (seven from Hostel A and one from Hostel B). From 18 July 2003 to 1 August 2003 (the first three weeks after the June/July holidays), 25 injuries occurred. Conclusion: Our findings were similar to those of other studies in certain respects but differed in others. Further research should investigate the effect of coaching techniques, fitness levels, protective gear and first aid provided on the injuries sustained.
format Article
id doaj-art-470390257f0e44aaa7c8094ea2a91113
institution Kabale University
issn 2078-6190
2078-6204
language English
publishDate 2006-09-01
publisher AOSIS
record_format Article
series South African Family Practice
spelling doaj-art-470390257f0e44aaa7c8094ea2a911132025-08-20T03:44:01ZengAOSISSouth African Family Practice2078-61902078-62042006-09-0148810.1080/20786204.2006.10873438592Epidemiology of rugby injuries sustained by Free State University hostel-league players during the 2003 rugby seasonJaclyn Mahaffey0Jeannine Owen1Leigh Owen2Ockie van Schalkwyk3Nicholas Theron4Gina Joubert5School of Medicine, University of the Free StateSchool of Medicine, University of the Free StateSchool of Medicine, University of the Free StateSchool of Medicine, University of the Free StateClini-Sports Sports Medicine, Rehabilitation and Wellness CentreDepartment of Biostatistics, University of the Free StateBackground: Rugby results in more hospitalisations and visits to the emergency rooms of hospitals than any other sport. It is also the sport with the highest injury rate. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and profile of the rugby injuries that were sustained by hostel-league rugby players at the University of the Free state. Methods: This analytical prospective cohort study included all the rugby players playing in the Free state University Rugby Hostel League in the 2003 rugby season. Throughout the rugby season, the rugby coaches documented the dates of each practice session, the duration of each practice and the players present at each practice and each match. The captains reported the injuries in their teams. Each player also personally completed a separate injury form for each injury. All the players who had been injured gave informed, written consent for their data to be used. The protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free state. The main outcome measures were the incidence of injury, injury risk per 100 hours played and the profile of the injuries. Results: The results of only four of the six hostels are reported due to a lack of cooperation from the other two hostels. Fifty-eight (26.4%) of the 220 players were injured during the season, with 61 injuries being recorded, three of the players being injured twice. The incidence of the injuries ranged from 21.4% to 32% per hostel. Forty per cent of the injured players had also been injured during the previous season. Only three hostels had sufficient information for their risk per time exposure to be calculated. The risk was 0.4, 6.2 and 6.3 per 1 000 hours of exposure. The overall risk of injury per 1 000 hours of rugby played was 5.3. The majority of injuries occurred in the first league and in the lower limbs, with the most common type of injury involving ligaments. Most injuries were caused by tackling. The occurrence of injuries took place evenly throughout both halves of the matches. One date and one time interval during the rugby season stood out due to the high incidence of injuries sustained: on 9 May 2003, 10 injuries were sustained, eight in a game between the first teams of two hostels (seven from Hostel A and one from Hostel B). From 18 July 2003 to 1 August 2003 (the first three weeks after the June/July holidays), 25 injuries occurred. Conclusion: Our findings were similar to those of other studies in certain respects but differed in others. Further research should investigate the effect of coaching techniques, fitness levels, protective gear and first aid provided on the injuries sustained.https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/428rugbyinjurieshostel league
spellingShingle Jaclyn Mahaffey
Jeannine Owen
Leigh Owen
Ockie van Schalkwyk
Nicholas Theron
Gina Joubert
Epidemiology of rugby injuries sustained by Free State University hostel-league players during the 2003 rugby season
South African Family Practice
rugby
injuries
hostel league
title Epidemiology of rugby injuries sustained by Free State University hostel-league players during the 2003 rugby season
title_full Epidemiology of rugby injuries sustained by Free State University hostel-league players during the 2003 rugby season
title_fullStr Epidemiology of rugby injuries sustained by Free State University hostel-league players during the 2003 rugby season
title_full_unstemmed Epidemiology of rugby injuries sustained by Free State University hostel-league players during the 2003 rugby season
title_short Epidemiology of rugby injuries sustained by Free State University hostel-league players during the 2003 rugby season
title_sort epidemiology of rugby injuries sustained by free state university hostel league players during the 2003 rugby season
topic rugby
injuries
hostel league
url https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/428
work_keys_str_mv AT jaclynmahaffey epidemiologyofrugbyinjuriessustainedbyfreestateuniversityhostelleagueplayersduringthe2003rugbyseason
AT jeannineowen epidemiologyofrugbyinjuriessustainedbyfreestateuniversityhostelleagueplayersduringthe2003rugbyseason
AT leighowen epidemiologyofrugbyinjuriessustainedbyfreestateuniversityhostelleagueplayersduringthe2003rugbyseason
AT ockievanschalkwyk epidemiologyofrugbyinjuriessustainedbyfreestateuniversityhostelleagueplayersduringthe2003rugbyseason
AT nicholastheron epidemiologyofrugbyinjuriessustainedbyfreestateuniversityhostelleagueplayersduringthe2003rugbyseason
AT ginajoubert epidemiologyofrugbyinjuriessustainedbyfreestateuniversityhostelleagueplayersduringthe2003rugbyseason