ArticleSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2020
Cumulative Sport-Related Injuries and Longer Term Impact in Retired Male Elite- and Amateur-Level Rugby Code Athletes and Non-contact Athletes: A Retrospective Study.
Article in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Shoulder injuries in rugby union: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Neurodegenerative Diseases in Male Former First-Class New Zealand Rugby Players.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- A sixteen-year epidemiological study of match injuries sustained during the women's Rugby World Cup (2010 to 2025).Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Increased medial meniscus extrusion on ultrasonography in highly competitive rugby players: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Concussion-Related Cognitive and Lipid Changes in Retired UK Rugby Players Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Global Positioning System-Derived Metrics and Machine Learning Models for Injury Prediction in Professional Rugby Union Players.European journal of sport science · 2025Article
- Injury Epidemiology in Brazilian Rugby Union: Implications for Strength and Conditioning Practice.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Effects of Lifetime Exposure to Sports-Related Head Impacts on Brain Injury and Inflammatory Blood Biomarkers Among Former Middle-Aged Athletes.Neurotrauma reports · 2025Article
- Concussion-Related Biomarker Variations in Retired Rugby Players and Implications for Neurodegenerative Disease Risk: The UK Rugby Health Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Lower limb balance, ankle dorsiflexion, orofacial tissue pressure, and occlusal force of rugby players.Sports medicine and health science · 2024Article
- Pain, impairment, medication use and health-related quality of life of retired professional rugby players.South African journal of sports medicine · 2024Article
- Kumanu Tāngata: the aftermatch study - protocol to examine the health outcomes of high-level male rugby union players using linked administrative data.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2024Article
- Increased risk of lower limb osteoarthritis among former professional soccer (football) players.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Sports Injuries in 11,000 Japanese Collegiate Athletes.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Investigating the association between subjective and objective performance-based cognitive function among former collegiate football players.The Clinical neuropsychologist · 2023Article
- Health conditions among retired elite rugby players: a scoping review.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2023Article
- The 50 Most Cited Papers on Rugby since 2000 Reveal a Focus Primarily on Strength and Conditioning in Elite Male Players.Journal of sports medicine (Hindawi Publishing Corporation) · 2023Review
- Beyond the medals: a cross-sectional study exploring retired elite female athletes' health.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2023Article
- Comparative study of role of physiotherapy alone versus physiotherapy combined with yoga in rehabilitation after a sports injury. What can a primary physician offer?Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2022Article
- Protect the Player, Protect the Game: Reflections from Ex-Professional Rugby Union Players on Law Changes, Protective Equipment, and Duty of Care in the Professional Game.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRugby union and rugby league are popular team contact sports, but they bring a high risk of injury. Although previous studies have reported injury occurrence across one or several seasons, none have explored the total number of injuries sustained across an entire career. As the first to do so, the aim of this study was to report on cumulative injuries and their perceived long-term impact in retired rugby code athletes compared to athletes from non-contact sports.
methodsOne hundred and eighty-nine former rugby code athletes (rugby union n = 145; rugby league n = 44) and 65 former non-contact athletes were recruited to the UK Rugby Health Project between September 2016 and December 2018. Details on sports participation, sports injuries and concussion history, sports injury-related surgeries, and previous and current health were obtained from a validated, online self-report questionnaire.
resultsFormer elite rugby code athletes (n = 83) reported more total injuries per player (median 39, IQR 35) than former amateur rugby code athletes (n = 106; median 23, IQR 30; p = 0.014) and non-contact sports athletes (n = 65; median 7.5, IQR 15; p < 0.001). Concussion was the most frequently reported injury for the elite and amateur rugby code groups, followed by upper/lower back and knee ligament injuries. These injuries also presented with the highest recurrence. Rugby code groups reported a higher continued impact of previous concussion, neck injuries, shoulder dislocation, ACL tears, and knee ligament injuries (p = 0.003-0.045). The reported prevalence of osteoarthritis was more than twofold greater in the elite rugby code group than in non-contact athletes (51% v 22%, p < 0.001). The prevalence of back pain and/or severe and regular joint pain was high across all groups (47-80%), particularly the elite rugby code group. The total number of joint injuries and sport injury-related surgeries was higher in those who reported current osteoarthritis and current severe and regular joint pain (p < 0.001-p = 0.028).
conclusionAcross multiple injury types, past participation in rugby union and rugby league, particularly at elite level, is associated with a high cumulative injury load and a continued impact of previous injuries post-retirement. Given the high number of reported concussions (and their recurrence) and associations between previous injuries during a player's career and current musculoskeletal conditions, efforts should be prioritized to reduce the occurrence and recurrence of injuries in rugby codes at all levels of the sport. Strategies should also be developed for supporting the specific physical health needs of rugby code athletes post-retirement.
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