Injuries in Rugby and Association Football

The number, site, severity and rate of accidents and the medical attention received has been measured for association and rugby football in the four northern counties of England during the 1970-1971 season. 696 out of 1601 (43%) association and 117 out of 232 (50%) rugby football clubs replied to the questionnaires. If all the clubs had replied an estimated 14078 injuries would have occurred in association and 3888 in rugby football. For soccer, the accident rate was 36.5 per 10,000 man-hours of play and for rugger 30.5. In soccer 65% of all injuries were to the lower limbs, but only 36% in rugger, which had a higher proportion of injuries to other sites compared with soccer. Fractures and dislocations were twice as common in rugger as in soccer. Concussion was also more common. In rugby football, the players are injured less often than in association football, but more seriously, as is shown by the fact that hospital treatment was needed by 29.8% of the soccer injuries, but 52.8% of those in rugby football. Similarly, a rugger injury needed on average 12 days off play, whereas one in soccer needed only 6 days off play.

A bigger proportion of soccer injuries (73.8%) received rapid first aid than did rugger injuries (45.8%). Better first aid cover at matches and simple protective clothing for the legs of soccer players and shoulders of rugby players are suggested.

     

The prevalence,influential factors and mechanisms of relative age effects in UK Rugby League

Relative age effects (RAEs), reflecting observed inequalities in participation and attainment as a result of annual age‐grouping policies in youth sport, are common in most team sports. The aims of this study were to determine if and when RAEs become apparent in Rugby League, determine how influential variables (e.g., gender) lead and clarify whether player retention at junior representative levels can explain persistent RAEs. Player data were collected for the male and female community games ranging from Under 7s to Senior (N=15 060) levels, junior representative selections (i.e., Regional) and professional players (N=298). Chi‐square analyses found significant (P<0.05) uneven birth date distributions beginning at the earliest stages of the game and throughout into senior professionals. In junior representative selections, 47.0% of Regional and 55.7% of National representative players were born in Quartile 1, with RAE risk increasing with performance level. Gender and nationality were also found to moderate RAE risk. When tracking representative juniors, over 50% were retained for similar competition the following season. Findings clearly demonstrate that RAEs exist throughout Rugby League with early selection, performance level and retention processes, appearing to be key contributing factors responsible for RAE persistence.     

Influence of injuries on team playing performance in Rugby League.

All injuries have the potential to impact on individual sporting performance and as a result may influence team playing performance. However, the influence of injuries on team playing performance is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of injuries on team playing performance in Rugby League. All injuries sustained by one semi-professional first grade Rugby League team were prospectively studied during the 2001 competitive season. An injury was defined as any pain or disability suffered by a player during a match. Team playing performance for each match was estimated from the metres gained while in possession of the football, points scored, points conceded, the final points differential and the completion rates of attacking sets of tackles. A total of 294 injuries were recorded. The average metres gained for all matches was 1471 (95% confidence interval, CI: 1383 to 1559) m. The team averaged 42 (95% CI: 32 to 51) points in attack each match and conceded an average of 15 (95% CI: 9 to 21) points in defence. The average completion rate for the season was 65.3 (95% CI: 60.6 to 70.0)%. There was no significant association (p>0.05) between the number of injuries sustained and team-playing performance. These findings suggest that injuries have minimal impact on team-playing performance in Rugby League. Further research on a larger sample (including winning and losing teams), is required to provide a detailed analysis of the influence of injuries on team playing performance in Rugby League.     

Physical demands of elite Rugby League referees: Part one--time and motion analysis.

The purpose of the present study was to accurately and reliably analyse the nature of movement undertaken by National Rugby League (NRL) referees during matches played in the 2000 season. The movements of NRL referees (n=5) were analysed from videotape footage of ten games. The researchers assigned each movement to one of six defined categories (stationary, walking forwards, jogging forwards, sprinting, sideways, and backwards), and recorded number of repetitions, movement durations, and distances covered during each specific movement category. Distance was estimated using on-field markings as known points. Mean total distance per game was 6.7 km +/- 0.4 km (mean +/- standard deviation), and was made up of approximately 940 movements per game. The data showed 87% of distance was made up of a cyclic activity comprising jogging forwards, then backwards at mean running speeds of 7.2 km x h(-1) and 10.8 km x h(-1) respectively (made up of 9s bursts on average, each separated by 3s breaks). However, this cyclic activity accounted for only 47% of time, as referees were stationary 41% of time. Play was continuous for 90s +/- 71s at each phase of play, and was followed by rest of 45s +/- 36s throughout matches (work to rest ratio was 2:1). These findings suggest Rugby League refereeing is a highly intermittent activity and therefore training and fitness assessments should reflect these specific demands experienced during a game.     

Comparison of training activities and game demands in the Australian Football League.

his paper serves as a companion to our recent study of the movement patterns and game activities of players (from five different positions) during matches in the 2000 Australian Football League season. Using lapsed-time video analysis, the same individual players (n= 11) as filmed in matches were also monitored during 21 in-season, main training sessions conducted by their clubs in order to assess the degree to which training activities matched game demands. In general, the training sessions did not involve physical pressure; therefore there were very few contested marks and ground balls or tackles, shepherds and spoils, thereby not matching these game demands. Players typically had more possessions (kicks and handballs) at training than in games. They also spent a greater percentage of total time standing and less time walking at training than in games. Fast-running and sprinting efforts at training were almost all for durations of <6 secs, which matched game demands, as did changes of direction when sprinting, which were almost all in a 0-90 degrees arc. However, across all players filmed, high intensity (fast-running and sprinting) movements were not performed as frequently at training (one every 76 secs) as in games (one every 51 secs). Therefore, while some game demands were adequately replicated at training, others were not closely simulated, suggesting that, after careful interpretation of these results, some improvements in training practices could be made.     

Orofacial injuries and the use of mouthguards by the 1984 Great Britain Rugby League touring team.

Mouthguards are considered by most authorities to be an essential part of equipment for players in any body-contact sports, especially the combative type e.g. Rugby Union, Rugby League, American Football (gridiron), boxing, etc. (Turner, 1977). The qualities provided by the mouthguard are dental protection, especially of the upper anterior teeth, soft tissue protection around the mouth, a reduction in the risk of fracture of the mandible, and a reduction in the concussion force from a blow to the mandible (Clegg, 1969; Upson, 1982; Davies et al, 1977). Of the 28 players interviewed, only 7 (25%) wore mouthguards, the commonest reason for not using a mouthguard being difficulty with breathing, a finding in common with other similar surveys (Davies et al, 1977). In view of the fact that 17 (60.7%) had sustained oral injuries - dental and jaw injuries, intra-oral and circumoral lacerations, in the past, it was a surprising response to find that only 2 (7.2%) stated that mouthguards should be compulsory when playing Rugby League football.     

Recurrent concussion and risk of depression in retired professional football players

PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to investigate the association between prior head injury and the likelihood of being diagnosed with clinical depression among retired professional football players with prior head injury exposure. METHODS: A general health questionnaire, including information about prior injuries, the SF-36 (Short Form 36), and other markers for depression, was completed by 2552 retired professional football players with an average age of 53.8 (+/-13.4) yr and an average professional football-playing career of 6.6 (+/-3.6) yr. A second questionnaire focusing on mild cognitive impairment (MCI)-related issues was completed by a subset of 758 retired professional football players (50 yr and older). RESULTS: Two hundred sixty-nine (11.1%) of all respondents reported having prior or current diagnosis of clinical depression. There was an association between recurrent concussion and diagnosis of lifetime depression (chi2=71.21, df=2, P<0.005), suggesting that the prevalence increases with increasing concussion history. Compared with retired players with no history of concussion, retired players reporting three or more previous concussions (24.4%) were three times more likely to be diagnosed with depression; those with a history of one or two previous concussions (36.3%) were 1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with depression. The analyses controlled for age, number of years since retirement, number of years played, physical component score on the SF-36, and diagnosed comorbidities such as osteoarthritis, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest a possible link between recurrent sport-related concussion and increased risk of clinical depression. The findings emphasize the importance of understanding potential neurological consequences of recurrent concussion.     

Football incident analysis: a new video based method to describe injury mechanisms in professional football

OBJECTIVES: To develop and test a new video based method for match analysis that combines football specific and medical information to achieve a better understanding of the injury mechanisms and events leading up to high risk situations. METHODS: Football incident analysis (FIA) is a video based method describing incidents that may result in an injury using 19 variables and categories modified from match analysis. Videos from 35 of 76 (46%) official Norwegian under 21 matches played from 1994 to 1998 were analysed. Two football experts classified each incident on the basis of predetermined criteria, and their results were compared using interobserver and intraobserver reliability tests. RESULTS: kappa correlation coefficients for interobserver and intraobserver agreement were very good for 63% and 95% and good for 37% and 5% of the variables respectively. Fifty two incidents were recorded (1.6 incidents per team per match or 94 per 1000 player hours), and 16 (31%) led to injuries (0.5 injuries per match or 29 injuries per 1000 player hours). FIA results showed that 28 incidents occurred while attacking in midfield zone 2 or the attacking zone, and 24 took place while defending in the defensive zone or midfield zone 1. Midfielders were exposed in 67% of the incidents, mainly in breakdown attacks or during long attacks by the opposing team. Of the 28 incidents during offence, only one was classified as having great potential to score a goal. Most incidents (70%) were the result of tackling duels both in the offensive and defensive playing phases. Of the 21 offensive incidents resulting from tackling duels, in 19 cases the exposed player was unaware of the tackling (passive duellist). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that football incident analysis is a potentially valuable tool for understanding the events leading up to injuries in football.