Rugby is growing in popularity across the GTA among both male and female athletes. It is a high collision, high intensity sport which also has one of the highest injury rates among athletes. Who is most at risk and what can you do to prevent these injuries?
Note: Sheddon’s physiotherapists from the Oakville and Burlington Physio Clinics are prepared and determined to help you get back to the sport you like.
Mechanism of Injury
80% of rugby injuries occur during contact, with the tackle accounting for the majority of injuries, followed by the ruck. It was also found that the tackler was more at risk for injury than the person being tackled, while forwards experienced more injuries than backs.
Common Injuries
Knee and ankle ligament injuries, along with hamstring injuries, account for 33% of all rugby injuries. Preseason exercise based intervention programs have reduced these injuries by 62-70 %. Read more here on lower body injury prevention strategies.
The shoulder is also commonly injured, with an AC joint dislocation being the most common shoulder injury, and is mainly caused by a tackle, impact with players or the ground.
Concussions account for roughly 20% of all rugby injuries. Rugby has also been shown to have the highest amount of concussions compared to all other team sports. In the past couple of years, there has been a huge push in the education and awareness of head injury and its prevention in rugby. Studies have shown there to be three main risk factors for concussions in rugby:
1. The tackle was the most likely cause of head injury;
2. The tackler was the player most likely to sustain the concussion;
3. The risk was 4x greater in high contact tackles (i.e., when the tackler was upright and his head was at or near the level of the ball carrier’s head and shoulders).
World rugby took this information and decided to make changes by penalizing players for high tackles and heavily encouraging lower and safer tackles.
Injury Prevention Strategies
- Exercise based intervention programs such as FIFA 11 focus on exercises to improve balance, coordination, strength and power in order to prevent lower extremity injuries. FIFA 11 has been shown to reduce lower extremity injuries across many sports, including Rugby. However, they do not focus on upper extremity injuries, which account for 41 % of all rugby related injuries. As a result, the FIFA 11 program is helpful, but additional upper body exercises focused on shoulder and neck strengthening need to be supplemented in order to target rugby specific injuries.
- Tackling education and good tackling technique are prudent for injury reduction, since the majority of injuries are contact related, especially concussions. This is especially important at the youth levels. If players are taught early on to tackle safely, it will follow them throughout their athletic career.
- Preseason functional movement screening (FMS) can help determine if athletes have adequate strength, movement flexibility and stability required for optimal performance. The FMS is a screening tool consisting of seven different movements, and can identify abnormal movement patterns that can lead to injuries. At Sheddon Physiotherapy and Sports Clinic we see individual athletes for preseason assessment as well as teams.
- Concussion baseline testing is essential and is currently recommended in the National Concussion Guidelines for all athletes. This guideline was developed by chief medial experts of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Own the Podium and the Network of High Performance Sport Institutes across the country. To learn more about Sheddon Physiotherapy and Sports Clinics comprehensive baseline testing click here.
- Sheddon will be hosting a concussion baseline testing day on April 6, 2019, where athletes will save 40% off regular baseline pricing. Click here to learn more.
(2019, Jan 10). Concussion rates in rugby: Rates down, now pull on ONE rope, all together. Retrieved from www.Sportsscientists.com.
For more info, contact Sheddon Physiotherapy and Sports Clinics in Oakville and Burlington at 905-849-4576.
We are located only 6 min East of Oakville Place and 4 min East of Whole Foods Market on Cornwall Rd.
The Burlington physio clinic is located only 2 min south of IKEA Burlington and 6 min north of Burlington Golf & Country Club, on Plains Rd East.