THE NEW-ZEALAND RUGBY INJURY AND PERFORMANCE PROJECT - V - EPIDEMIOLOGY OF A SEASON OF RUGBY INJURY

Objective-To describe the incidence, nature, and circumstances of inju ry experienced by a cohort of rugby union players during a full compet itive club season. Methods-A prospective cohort study followed up 356 male and female rugby players throughout the 1993 competitive club sea son. Players were interviewed by telephone each week to obtain informa tion on the amount of rugby played and the injury experienced. Results -Detailed information was collected for 4403 player-games and 8653 pla yer-practices. A total of 671 injury events were reported, of which 56 9 were rugby related. The injury rate for games was higher than that f or practices (rate ratio 8.3). At 10.9 injuries per 100 player-games, males had a higher rate of injury than females at 6.1 injuries per 100 player-games (p<0.001). Injury rates varied by position, with male lo cks (13.0 injuries per 100 player-games) and female inside backs (12.3 injuries per 100 player-games) having the highest rate in their respe ctive sexes. The lower limb was the body region most often injured in games (42.5%) and practices (58.4%). Sprains/strains were the most com mon type of injury in games (46.7%) and practices (76.1%). In games th e tackle was the phase of play in which the most injuries occurred (40 %), followed by rucks (17%) and mauls (12%). Thirteen per cent of game injury events were the result of foul play. Conclusions-Rugby injury was common among the study subjects and varied according to grade and gender. Identifying the causes of injuries in the tackle, lower limb i njuries, and dealing with the issue of foul play are priority areas fo r the prevention of rugby injury.