Relationship between Physical and Wellness Baseline Screening Measures and Seasonal Amateur Rugby Injury

Abstract

There is an inherent risk of injury in Rugby, due to the physical demands and exposure to collisions. While injuries in professional Rugby are widely reported, little is known about the amateur game. Investigating relationships between physical and wellness screening measures may identify injury causal factors and aid the development of targeted injury prevention strategies. PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between physical and wellness screening measures, and seasonal injury in Irish amateur Rugby. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-seven amateur Rugby players [male n=113 (mean age=22.7±3.9), female n=24 (mean age=25.6±4.9)] were screened in pre-season and monitored throughout the season for injury. Questionnaires included: player background history and wellness; Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28) and Perceived Available Support in Sport (PASS-Q). Physical tests included; anthropometric measurements, knee-to-wall test, straight leg raise test and adductor squeeze test. Injury incidence data were gathered using a comprehensive Rugby-specific web-based surveillance system.Data were collected and analyzed in SPSS (Version 22, IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA). Logistic regression were used to estimate odds of sustaining an injury. Baseline measurements were compared between males and females and ‘Forwards’ (position 1-8) and ‘Backs’ (position 9-15) using Student’s t-tests. Significance was set a-priori at P = 0.05. RESULTS: Males had a higher incidence of injury than females with respective incidence rates of 51.2/1,000player hours and 42.9/1,000player hours (P<0.05). In the ‘Backs’, an inverse relationship between adductor strength at 0° knee flexion and groin injury was found (-0.307, P<0.05). No correlations between questionnaires and other physical measurements and injury were found. CONCLUSIONS: The Irish Rugby Injury Surveillance (IRIS) project is the first long-term injury surveillance system monitoring injury trends in Irish amateur Rugby. Reduced groin strength at pre-season was associated with more groin injuries during the season for ‘Backs’. Further investigation of groin strength and injuries in Rugby may inform future injury prevention strategies. Funding: The IRIS Project is funded by the Irish Rugby Football Union.