Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27252828›Full record

ArticleChiropractic & manual therapies2016

Match injuries in amateur Rugby Union: a prospective cohort study - FICS Biennial Symposium Second Prize Research Award.

Michael S Swain, Reidar P Lystad, Nicholas Henschke, Christopher G Maher, Steven J Kamper

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Chiropractic & manual therapies, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Shoulder injuries in rugby union: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Observational
  8. Review
  9. INJURIES IN QUIDDITCH: A DESCRIPTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2017
    Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Michael S SwainThe George Institute for Global Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, GPO Box 5389, Sydney, NSW 2001 Australia ; Department of Chiropractic, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
Reidar P LystadSchool of Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Sydney, Australia.
Nicholas HenschkeThe George Institute for Global Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, GPO Box 5389, Sydney, NSW 2001 Australia ; Institute of Public Health, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Christopher G MaherThe George Institute for Global Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, GPO Box 5389, Sydney, NSW 2001 Australia.
Steven J KamperThe George Institute for Global Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, GPO Box 5389, Sydney, NSW 2001 Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe majority of Rugby Union (rugby) players participate at the amateur level. Knowledge of player characteristics and injury risks is predominantly ascertained from studies on professional or junior athletes in rugby. The objectives of the current study are to: (1) describe the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and physical characteristics of a cohort of amateur rugby players; (2) describe the incidence, severity and mechanism of match injuries in amateur rugby, and; (3) explore factors associated with rates of match injury in this population.

methodsParticipants (n = 125) from one amateur men's rugby club were followed in a one-season (2012) prospective cohort study. Match injury and match time exposure data were collected. A participant match exposure log was maintained. Baseline variables collected include: participant's age, playing experience, position of play, the SF-36v2 health survey, height and weight. Injury incidence rates (IIRs) per 1000 match-hours exposure were calculated. Injury sub-groups were compared by calculating rate ratios of two IIRs. Poisson mixed-effects generalised linear modelling was used to explore relationships between IIRs and baseline predictors.

resultsA total of 129 injuries occurred during a combined period of 2465 match-hours of exposure. The overall IIR was 52.3 (43.7-62.2) /1000 match-hours exposure. Moderate-severe injuries (>1 week time-loss from play) comprised 36 % of all injuries. Tackling was the most common mechanism of injury, the head/face was the most common body region of injury and sprain/ligament injuries were the most common injury type. Fewer years of rugby participation, lower BMI and lower SF-36v2 mental component summary score were associated with higher IIR in amateur rugby. Age, player position i.e., backs versus forwards and SF-36v2 physical component summary score were not associated with injury incidence.

conclusionAmateur rugby players report similar HRQoL as the general population. We found amateur players had a higher rate of injury and lower injury severity than previous amateur studies, but location, type, and mechanism were similar. In this study pre-season HRQoL and BMI were weakly associated with higher injury rate when controlling for other factors; a finding that should be interpreted with caution and clarified with future research.

Indexed as

Athletic injuriesEpidemiologyFootballRugby UnionSports

Identifiers

PMID27252828
PMCPMC4888508

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.