Injuries associated with... RUGBY

Entire CHIRPP database, as of April 1995, all ages

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SUMMARY (839 records)

The majority of rugby-related injuries were sustained by children 15 to 19 years of age, and 83.3% of total rugby- related injuries were to boys. Rugby injuries were most common in the spring (50.1%) and the fall (37.2%). The most common circumstance (31.5%) was when a player tackled or was tackled by another player. Rugby-related injuries most often occurred in school yards (55.3%) and areas of organized sport (21.1%). A total of 53.3% of rugby injuries required advice only or minor treatment, 43.4% required medical follow-up after leaving the emergency department and 3.1% of the patients were admitted to hospital. Injuries to the arm or hand accounted for 39.8% of all injuries. The most frequent type of injury was abrasion, bruising or inflammation (28.3%). Use of protective equipment was reported by 6.7% of persons injured while playing rugby.

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SPECIFICATIONS OF THE SEARCH

An April 1995 search of the entire CHIRPP database (423,663 records) was conducted. There was no age restriction. Records were selected if the injury was coded for rugby (factor code 3234) or if the text fields included the word segment "rugby." Records were excluded if the person injured was not playing, practicing or officiating at rugby when the injury occurred. Injured spectators were excluded. The total number of records identified was 839.

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OVERALL OCCURRENCE

The proportion of records in the entire CHIRPP database accounted for by rugby injuries is 0.20%. The proportion of rugby injuries among the total CHIRPP records for each year ranged from 0.16% to 0.23% for the years 1990 to 1994.

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AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION OF INJURED PERSONS

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES	% MALE*
5-9 years	4	0.5	75.0
10-14 years	230	27.4	92.2
15-19 years	502	59.8	79.9
20-99 years	102	12.2	81.4
Unknown	1	0.1
Total	839	100.0	83.3

* Of all injuries in the CHIRPP database, 59.7% are to males

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SEASON DURING WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Spring (March-May)	420	50.1
Fall (Sept.-Nov.)	312	37.2
Summer (June-August)	97	11.6
Winter (Dec.-Feb.)	10	1.2
Total	839	100.0

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TIME AT WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Midnight to 8 a.m.	4	0.5
8 a.m. to Noon	75	8.9
Noon to 4 p.m.	243	29.0
4 p.m. to 8 p.m.	392	46.7
8 p.m. to 8 a.m.	39	4.6
Unknown	86	10.3
Total	839	100.0

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DAY OF WEEK WHEN INJURY OCCURRED

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Monday	128	15.3
Tuesday	144	17.2
Wednesday	181	21.6
Thursday	135	16.1
Friday	98	11.7
Saturday	117	13.9
Sunday	36	4.3
Total	839	100.0

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WHERE THE INJURY OCCURRED

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
School yard	464	55.3
Area for organized sport	177	21.1
Playground	104	12.4
Recreational land	57	6.8
Residential yard	6	0.7
Other	6	0.7
Unknown	25	3.0
Total	839	100.0

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RUGBY ACTIVITY CONTRIBUTING TO THE INJURY

The following is a list of frequently occurring circumstances and factors leading to rugby injury. Each case has been assigned to only one category and percentages are based on 839 persons injured. Category assignment is based on the level of detail available in the description of the injury. Whenever possible player collisions are identified as tackles (intentional) or hits. The categories "tackle," "hit by ball," "stepped on or kicked" take precedence over more general categories such as "trip, slip or fall" or "other(s) fell on."

	NUMBER		PERCENT OF INJURIES
Tackle (intentional contact)		264	31.5
Tackle unspecified	17
Tackle by injured player	30
Tackle to injured player	217
Hit (unknown or unintentional contact)		165	19.7
Injured player hit another player	23
Injured player hit by another player	142
Slip, trip, or fall (no additional information available)		76	9.1
Collision (between two moving players, intent unknown)		70	8.3
Injured player was stepped on or kicked		68	8.1
Other(s) fell on injured player (no additional information available)		60	7.2
Hit by the ball		27	3.2
Overexertion, sprain, strain (no additional information available)		23	2.7
Caught (finger, hand or foot)		7	0.8
Hit an object (e.g. goal post, fence, bench)		6	0.7
Player involved in a fight		6	0.7
Injured player stepped on another		5	0.6
Circumstance unspecified or unknown		62	7.4
Total		839	100

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SAFETY DEVICE USED AT TIME OF INJURY

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
None or not reported	783	93.3
Unspecified sport specific equipment	28	3.3
Mouth guard	20	2.4
Other protective equipment	8	1.0
Total	839	100.0

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TREATMENT PROVIDED

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Left without being seen	2	0.2
Advice only, or treatment with no need for follow-up	447	53.3
Treated, follow-up required	364	43.4
Admitted to hospital	26	*3.1
Fatal injury	**0
Total	839	100.0

* The percentage of all CHIRPP injuries that resulted in hospital admission is 5.7%.

** Fatalities counted by CHIRPP include only those patients who were dead on arrival at the emergency department or who died in the emergency department. They do not include people who died before they could be taken to hospital or those who died after hospital admission.

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NATURE OF INJURY AND BODY PART INJURED

	NUMBER		PERCENT OF INJURIES
Abrasion/bruising/inflammation		245	28.3
upper extremity	72
lower extremity	68
head or neck	60
trunk	43
other	2
Fracture		221	25.5
upper extremity	164
lower extremity	31
head or neck	25
trunk	1
Sprain, strain		219	25.3
lower extremity	113
upper extremity	73
trunk	18
head or neck	15
Cut, laceration, puncture, or other wound		68	7.9
head or neck	59
upper extremity	4
lower extremity	4
respiratory tract	1
Dislocation, subluxation		37	4.3
upper extremity	31
lower extremity	6
Concussion		34	3.9
Minor head injury		23	2.7
Dental injury		3	0.3
Hemorrhage		3	0.3
Crushing injury		2	0.2
Multiple system trauma		1	0.1
Other, unspecified		10	1.1
No injury detected		(9)
Total		*866	100

* Up to three injuries may be specified for each record. Thirty- four patients (4.1%) sustained more than one injury.

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PROFILE OF PATIENTS ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL

Of the 26 patients admitted to hospital, 22 were male and four were female; 10 were ten to fourteen years old, 15 were fifteen to nineteen years old and one was over 19 years of age.

A collision, hit or tackle was reported by 18 of these patients, three patients hit fixed objects (walls, goal posts), two had a slip, trip of fall, two had another player(s) fall on them and one was hit by the ball. Fracture was the primary injury of 14 patients (nine to the arm and five to the leg), six patients suffered concussion, two had dislocated shoulders, one had a hemorrhage in the eye, one suffered a haematoma of the brain, one sustained a puncture of the lung, and one suffered a multiple system trauma.