Profile of Rugby Injuries in High School Zimbabwean Adolescents

Abstract

Background: Rugby is a popular sport played in many countries worldwide. There has been recent growing interest for the sport in Zimbabwe especially among adolescents. However, no study has been done to documentthe profile of rugby-related injuries among Zimbabwean adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 years. The goal of the present study is to describe the injuries sustained by adolescent males during the 2014 high school rugby season. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 275 male adolescents’ rugby players who competed in the Super Eight School Rugby League in Harare, Zimbabwe. Results: The mean age of the sample was 16 years (SD = 1.4). 58.2% of participants sustained at least one rugby-related injury. There were 561 injuries reported in total, of which 63.3% (n = 355) were new injuries and the remainder were recurrent cases. 7.7% (n = 43) of the injuries were graded as severe with participants missing rugby activities for more than 28 days. Of the 561 injuries that occurred, 59.4% (n = 333) occurred during competitive matches in the second half (59.5%). Injuries due to tackles were the most frequent accounting for 48.3% (n = 271) of all injuries sustained. The lower limbs were the most frequent body region affected (38.6%, n = 217). When comparing position of play, flankers sustained the most injuries (14.1%) and there were no differences in incidence of injury between forward and backline players. Conclusion: Our findings on the profile of rugby injuries among male Zimbabwean adolescents were similar to those of other studies in certain aspects but differed in others. Most injuries occurred in competition during the second half of the game mainly from tackles. Both junior and senior players were equally affected. The lower limbs were frequently injured especially the knee region.