Traumatic injuries in Italian Rugby professional players: A standardized analysis trial

Various programs were proposed on safety and psychophysical wellness maintenance in rugby athletes (e.g., Rugby Ready proposed by IRB). At the national level, a serious interest is developing on understanding which are the most critical factors and how they could be managed to reduce the risk of injury, and improve athletic performance and athletes’ psychophysical wellness. Aims First, to define the most frequent injuries associated with Italian professional rugby, developing a standardized trial of data collection and analysis to describe their incidence. Second, to design and asses a digital collecting data system of traumatic injuries in players, readily applicable by teams and stakeholders because of a common definition of the injuries. Methods Injuries were divided into major, and minor (with shorter rehabilitation period). Qualitative and quantitative assessment was conducted on athletes competing in the categories Eccellenza (E) and Serie B (B) during the 2012-2013 FIR Italian Championship. The population analyzed included players of 10 teams of the region Veneto (4 E, 6 B). The trauma profiles of 382 male players were assessed (148 E, 143 of which injured; 234 B, 114 of which injured). Study consisted of data collection sheet preparation and project presentation to involved teams; sheet administration and data collection, with the collaboration of medical specialists, trainers, physiotherapists and athletes themselves; collected data analysis. Main Results Here we present a brief report of data. Total amount of injuries in the season was 643, in 286 with indication of rehabilitation therapy. 485 injuries occurred during games, 158 during training, with higher prevalence in the E category. In both E and B the greatest incidence of trauma occurred in players aged 21-25 years for all roles. The most frequently injured role is third line. Type of injury: head trauma were 11 (6 B, 5 E), bone fracture 26, undefined contusion 47 (mostly to leg and shoulder), muscle contusion 53, bone contusion 29, ankle sprain 40 grade 1, and 5 grade 3. 14 injuries were to the shoulder, mainly right. During games the main interventions by the staff were applying ice (266 cases), PRICE (80) and massage (72). Immobilization was performed in 34 cases. Conclusion Results obtained could be important in understanding and warning stakeholders about the need for high level psychophysical training aimed at avoiding injuries and in optimizing acute infield interventions for early and adequate recognition of the type of injury, leading to shorter and specific rehabilitation for the athletic gesture and athlete wellness. In future perspective, implementation of a systematic and standardized federal data collection system would allow comparison with similar systems used in other countries.