Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the movement of the playing season from winter to summer would alter the risk of injury to players taking part in first team European professional rugby league. METHODS: The study design was a historical cohort design comparing winter and summer seasons in first team European rugby league, which recorded injuries received by players during match play. Each injury was classified according to site, type, player position, activity at the time of injury, and time off as a result of injury. RESULTS: The risk of injury when playing summer rugby league was higher than when playing winter rugby league (relative risk = 1.67 (95% confidence interval 1.18 to 2.17)). Both forwards (1.08 (0.28 to 1.88)) and backs (2.36 (2.03 to 2.69)) experienced an increased risk of injury. CONCLUSIONS: Summer rugby may have resulted in a shift of injury risk factors as exhibited by a change in injury patterns. This may be due to playing conditions, but there were also some law changes. Changes in playing style, team tactics, player equipment, fitness preparation, and the reduced preseason break may also have had confounding effects on injury risk.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (86.4 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Alexander D., Kennedy M., Kennedy J. Rugby league football injuries over two competition seasons. Med J Aust. 1980 Sep 20;2(6):334–335. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1980.tb77020.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Edgar M. Tackling rugby injuries. Lancet. 1995 Jun 10;345(8963):1452–1453. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(95)91031-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Estell J., Shenstone B., Barnsley L. Frequency of injuries in different age-groups in an elite rugby league club. Aust J Sci Med Sport. 1995 Dec;27(4):95–97. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gibbs N. Injuries in professional rugby league. A three-year prospective study of the South Sydney Professional Rugby League Football Club. Am J Sports Med. 1993 Sep-Oct;21(5):696–700. doi: 10.1177/036354659302100510. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gissane C., Jennings D. C., Cumine A. J., Stephenson S. E., White J. A. Differences in the incidence of injury between rugby league forwards and backs. Aust J Sci Med Sport. 1997 Dec;29(4):91–94. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jennings D., Gissane C. Turf-toe: super league toe. Br J Sports Med. 1997 Jun;31(2):164–164. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.31.2.164-b. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Powell J. W., Schootman M. A multivariate risk analysis of selected playing surfaces in the National Football League: 1980 to 1989. An epidemiologic study of knee injuries. Am J Sports Med. 1992 Nov-Dec;20(6):686–694. doi: 10.1177/036354659202000609. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rudicel S. Sports injury research. How to choose a study design. Am J Sports Med. 1988;16 (Suppl 1):S43–S47. doi: 10.1177/03635465880160s110. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Savdie E., Prevedoros H., Irish A., Vickers C., Concannon A., Darveniza P., Sutton J. R. Heat stroke following Rugby League football. Med J Aust. 1991 Nov 4;155(9):636–639. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1991.tb93937.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Seward H., Orchard J., Hazard H., Collinson D. Football injuries in Australia at the élite level. Med J Aust. 1993 Sep 6;159(5):298–301. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1993.tb137863.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Skovron M. L., Levy I. M., Agel J. Living with artificial grass: a knowledge update. Part 2: Epidemiology. Am J Sports Med. 1990 Sep-Oct;18(5):510–513. doi: 10.1177/036354659001800511. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stephenson S., Gissane C., Jennings D. Injury in rugby league: a four year prospective survey. Br J Sports Med. 1996 Dec;30(4):331–334. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.30.4.331. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]