Training injury incidence in an amateur women’s rugby union team in New Zealand over two consecutive seasons

AbstractConcussion is the most common match injury in rugby union. Some players wear padded headgear, but whether this protects against concussion is unclear. In professional male rugby union players, we examined: (i) the association between the use of headgear and match concussion injury incidence, and (ii) whether wearing headgear influenced time to return to play following concussion. Using a nested case-control within a cohort study, four seasons (2013–2017) of injury data from 1117 players at the highest level of rugby union in England were included. Cases were physician-diagnosed concussion injuries. Controls were other contact injuries (excluding all head injuries). We determined headgear use by viewing video footage. Sixteen percent of cases and controls wore headgear. Headgear use had no significant effect on concussion injury incidence (adjusted odds ratio=1.05, 95% CI: 0.71–1.56). Median number of days absent for concussion whilst wearing headgear was 8 days, compared with 7 days without headgear. Having sustained a concussion in the current or previous season increased the odds of concussion more than four-fold (odds ratio=4.55, 95% CI: 3.77–5.49). Wearing headgear was not associated with lower odds of concussions or a reduced number of days' absence following a concussion.

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Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Injuries in New Zealand Army Recruits as Defined by Physical Therapy Service Presentations

Military Medicine ◽

10.1093/milmed/usab186 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Narelle Hall ◽

Maria Constantinou ◽

Mark Brown ◽

Belinda Beck ◽

Suzanne Kuys

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Physical Therapy ◽

Injury Prevention ◽

Lower Limb ◽

Injury Incidence ◽

Basic Training ◽

Lower Limb Injuries ◽

Limb Injuries ◽

Army Recruits ◽

Therapy Service

ABSTRACT Introduction Army recruit injuries occurring during basic training can lead to high personal and organizational burdens potentially threatening deployment capability. Previous military surveillance describing recruit injury as defined by physical therapy presentations is limited to 1-year duration or includes only male infantry recruits or trained personnel. Research describing injury incidence and trends specific to New Zealand Army basic training recruits over a longer period will better inform future injury prevention programs. Aims To identify the incidence and patterns of injuries reported from physical therapy presentations for New Zealand Army recruits undertaking basic training over a 4-year period. Materials and Methods This retrospective observational study identified injuries from physical therapy service presentations in New Zealand Army recruits from 2008 to 2011. All male and female New Zealand Army recruits who presented to physical therapy, following medical triage, were included. Recruit physical therapy presentations for injury and respiratory and other conditions were collated. Injury incidence was grouped by body region (upper limbs, lower limbs, and combined spinal regions) and site (joint or segment), and cumulative and injury incidence rates were calculated. Results One thousand eight hundred and ninety-six (1,697 males and 199 females) New Zealand Army recruits commenced basic training between 2008 and 2011. One thousand six hundred and eighty-three physical therapy presentations occurred for recruit injury during New Zealand Army basic training over 4 years. Lower limb injuries accounted for over 75% (n = 1,285) of the overall demand for physical therapy service during recruit basic training. Injuries sustained at the knee and below accounted for 67% of all reported injury presentations. Conclusion Four years of injury surveillance using physical therapy presentations identified the lower limb, with the knee and below as the most commonly injured regions in New Zealand Army recruits. Injury prevention interventions for New Zealand Army recruits should aim to reduce lower limb injuries. Future research on injury surveillance would benefit from incorporating clear injury and severity definitions, established injury classification systems, and standardized incidence calculations.

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The King–Devick test was useful in management of concussion in amateur rugby union and rugby league in New Zealand

Journal of the Neurological Sciences ◽

10.1016/j.jns.2015.02.035 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 351 (1-2) ◽

pp. 58-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

D. King ◽

C. Gissane ◽

P.A. Hume ◽

M. Flaws

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Rugby League ◽

Rugby Union

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Tendon and Ligament Injuries in Elite Rugby: The Potential Genetic Influence

Sports ◽

10.3390/sports7060138 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 138 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jon Brazier ◽

Mark Antrobus ◽

Georgina K. Stebbings ◽

Stephen H. Day ◽

Shane M. Heffernan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Rugby League ◽

Rugby Union ◽

Individual Variability ◽

Ligament Injury ◽

Molecular Characteristics ◽

Surveillance Systems ◽

Injury Incidence ◽

Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽

Body Contact

This article reviews tendon and ligament injury incidence and severity within elite rugby union and rugby league. Furthermore, it discusses the biological makeup of tendons and ligaments and how genetic variation may influence this and predisposition to injury. Elite rugby has one of the highest reported injury incidences of any professional sport. This is likely due to a combination of well-established injury surveillance systems and the characteristics of the game, whereby high-impact body contact frequently occurs, in addition to the high intensity, multispeed and multidirectional nature of play. Some of the most severe of all these injuries are tendon and ligament/joint (non-bone), and therefore, potentially the most debilitating to a player and playing squad across a season or World Cup competition. The aetiology of these injuries is highly multi-factorial, with a growing body of evidence suggesting that some of the inter-individual variability in injury susceptibility may be due to genetic variation. However, little effort has been devoted to the study of genetic injury traits within rugby athletes. Due to a growing understanding of the molecular characteristics underpinning the aetiology of injury, investigating genetic variation within elite rugby is a viable and worthy proposition. Therefore, we propose several single nucleotide polymorphisms within candidate genes of interest; COL1A1, COL3A1, COL5A1, MIR608, MMP3, TIMP2, VEGFA, NID1 and COLGALT1 warrant further study within elite rugby and other invasion sports.

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The role of character in talent identification and development in New Zealand rugby union

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching ◽

10.1177/1747954119847172 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 406-418

Author(s):

Ryan Rosevear ◽

Tania Cassidy

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Rugby Union ◽

Talent Identification ◽

Systems Model ◽

A Value ◽

Universal Definition ◽

Definition Of ◽

Development Manager

The purpose of the study was to gain understanding of how character is understood in the New Zealand Rugby (NZR) ecology and how the Player Development Manager (PDM) in one Provincial Union (PU) negotiates, constructs and operationalizes interpretations of character within talent identification and development practices. The study design was informed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model of development and the methodology was case study. The participant in the study was the PDM who worked for one provincial rugby union and NZR. Data was gained using; interviews, document analysis and observations. An iterative strategy was employed when adopting the deductive and inductive analysis. The study found that across the NZR ecology there was no universal definition of character, or set of criteria used to assess players’ character. Within the NZR macrosystem there were formal policies that explicitly identified character as a value to be assessed. Yet, implicit understandings and assessment of character also existed. The PDM working in a microsystem constructed his understanding and assessment of character based on his experiences working with, and for, NZR (macrosystem) and the PU (exosystem) respectively, as well as drawing on his personal value set. The findings of this study are significant not only for rugby, in New Zealand and elsewhere, but they are relevant and topical for any selector, recruitment agent or coach who implicitly and explicitly (de)selects participants based on character.

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What they know and who they are telling: Concussion knowledge and disclosure behaviour in New Zealand adolescent rugby union players

Journal of Sports Sciences ◽

10.1080/02640414.2020.1749409 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 38 (14) ◽

pp. 1585-1594

Author(s):

Danielle M. Salmon ◽

Jody Mcgowan ◽

S. John Sullivan ◽

Ian Murphy ◽

Simon Walters ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Rugby Union ◽

Concussion Knowledge

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Trends in match injury risk in professional male rugby union: a 16-season review of 10 851 match injuries in the English Premiership (2002–2019): the Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance Project

British Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1136/bjsports-2020-102529 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. bjsports-2020-102529

Author(s):

Stephen W West ◽

Lindsay Starling ◽

Simon Kemp ◽

Sean Williams ◽

Matthew Cross ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Injury Risk ◽

Injury Severity ◽

Rugby Union ◽

Injury Surveillance ◽

Injury Incidence ◽

Match Play ◽

Common Activity ◽

Long Term Trends ◽

The Mean

ObjectivesThe Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance Project is the largest and longest running rugby union injury surveillance project globally and focuses on the highest level of rugby in England.MethodsWe examined match injuries in professional men’s rugby over the period 2002/2003 to 2018/2019 and described trends in injuries over this time.ResultsOver the period 2002/2003–2018/2019, 10 851 injuries occurred in 1 24 952 hours of match play, equating to a mean of 57 injuries per club per season and one injury per team per match. The mean incidence, severity (days absence) and burden (days absence/1000 hours) of injury were 87/1000 hours (95% CI 82 to 92), 25 days (95% CI 22 to 28) and 2178 days/1000 hours (95% CI 1872 to 2484), respectively. The tackle accounted for 43% injuries with running the second most common activity during injury (12%). The most common injury location was the head/face with an incidence of 11.3/1000 hours, while the location with the highest overall burden was the knee (11.1 days/1000 hours). Long-term trends demonstrated stable injury incidence and proportion of injured players, but an increase in the mean and median severity of injuries. Concussion incidence, severity and burden increased from the 2009/2010 season onwards and from 2011 to 2019 concussion was the most common injury.ConclusionThe rise in overall injury severity and concussion incidence are the most significant findings from this work and demonstrate the need for continued efforts to reduce concussion risk as well as a greater understanding of changes in injury severity over time.

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