Injuries in Rugby

Our club physio posted this on the club site:

I have just received my quarterly issue of Sport Ex. Medicine (issue 19) and thought u may find the following summary interesting for those of you who have suffered injury this season…

The average injury rate in rugby union in the UK is 3 injuries per game.

Injuries occur in the following major areas…

Scrummaging:

The majority of scrummaging injuries occur during the engagement. When the two packs come together, forces may reach two thirds of a ton. These forces are dissipated through the limbs, shoulders and spine. Postural muscles of the trunk and back are placed under great physical demand.

Even when well directed, the level of forces have the potential to lead to chronic degeneration of the musculo-skeletal structures of the spine due to repeated compression.

Tackling:

Tackling is a high-risk activity, with more injuries occurring in head on tackles than those from the side or behind. The head and neck followed by the knee are the most commonly injured sites of the body. More injuries occur during collision of players as opposed to impact with the hard ground during winter. There also appears to be similar injury rates between tackler and ball carrier. Often it is the slower moving player who comes off worst in a head on collision.

Rucking and Malling:

When a player is tackled, and on the ground, there is very high risk for contact injuries to occur. There is little more scientific findings on this area of play.

Open Play / Running:

During the course of the game, a player may cover a distance of between 5km and 10km with about a third made up from each of walking, jogging and running. Sprinting usually is in bursts of 5 to 15 seconds.

Running is rarely in straight lines, so injuries often occur to hip abductor and rotator muscles. Non-contact injuries to the ankle and knee ligaments are common, and this is enhanced if the grip between the studded boot and the ground is excessive.

After lactic acid build up during times of inactivity coupled with sprinting, muscle tears are common to the lower limbs.

Kicking:

Kicking involves a ballistic chain of open chain recruitment from the ankle, knee, hip and trunk. The hamstrings, quads and lower back is under particular strain.

Regards,

TA

Re: Injuries in Rugby
By: Professor H. Wolf On: 31/03/04 08:23 AM (#2) [Reply]
in the next issue of this respected journal there will be an article on the statistical likelihood of injury from bar-diving, flaming toilet paper games, recovering turned-over golfballs, touching clubhouse ceilings, climbing up sunshine mountains, wedgies, carpet burns, and low-flying christmas trees.
But at the end of the day, you're more likely to get hurt crossing the road, especially if you're walking home from the club.