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Injuries associated with... RUGBY
Entire CHIRPP database, as of April 1995, all ages
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.
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.
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.
AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION OF INJURED PERSONS
NUMBER PERCENT OF % MALE*
INJURIES
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.
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
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
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
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
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 76 9.1
information available)
Collision (between two moving players, 70 8.3
intent unknown)
Injured player was stepped on or kicked 68 8.1
Other(s) fell on injured player (no 60 7.2
additional information available)
Hit by the ball 27 3.2
Overexertion, sprain, strain (no 23 2.7
additional information available)
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 839 100.0
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
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.
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 68 7.9
other wound
-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 *866 100.0
* Up to three injuries may be specified for each record. Thirty-
four patients (4.1%) sustained more than one injury.
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.
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