Effect of a prevention programme on the incidence of rugby injuries among 15- and 16-year-old schoolboys

Abstract

Objective. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of an injury prevention programme on the incidence of rugby injuries (overall, intrinsic and extrinsic injuries) among 15- and 16-year-old schoolboys, over a 2- year period. A secondary aim was to identify the percentage of intrinsic rugby injuries associated with a previous injury history. Design. A non-equivalent experimental-control group design with multiple post-tests. Subjects. A- and B-team rugby players (N =120) from 2 secondary schools in the North West province of South Africa. Intervention. The injury prevention programme was planned according to the physical, motor, biomechanical and postural status of all players. Players in the experimental group received exercises to improve biomechanical and postural deficits identified, as well as drills to address shortcomings in speed, agility, and explosive power. Main outcome measures. Rugby injuries were screened and injury data collected through the use of weekly sportsmedicine clinics. Results. Differences and changes in extrinsic injury incidence in this study could not be attributed to the effect of the prevention programme, and as a result injury trends related to overall injury incidence were inconsistent when the matching experimental and control groups were compared. However, the prevention programme did have a positive effect on the intrinsic injury incidence of both the 15- (d = 1.61) and 16-year-old (d = 0.83) groups during the study period. During the second season there were no intrinsic injuries of a previous nature among both the experimental groups (0%), while in contrast intrinsic injuries of a previous nature still amounted to a significant fraction in both the control groups. Conclusion. The present intervention programme did not have a practically significant effect on the incidence of overall rugby injuries and extrinsic rugby injuries in 15- and 16-year-old schoolboys over a 2-year period. However, in practice the prevention programme did have a significantly positive effect on the incidence of intrinsic rugby injuries among 15- and 16-year-old schoolboys over a period of 2 years. Timely introduction of this programme during the off-season is advised.

South African Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 19 (2) 2007: pp. 46-51