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Injuries, incidence varied by gender among rugby players
Intercollegiate female and male American rugby players experienced different injury rates and patterns, according to study results.
Lt. Col.Brett D. Owens, MD, Keller Army Community Hospital, West Point, New York, and colleagues used an injury surveillance system to study 5 years of injury data from the men’s and women’s rugby teams at the U.S. Military Academy (2006-2007 through 2010-2011). One hundred twenty-nine women and 240 men were included in the study. Incidence rate of injury during the study period per 10,000 athlete exposures (AEs) was the primary outcome. Poisson distribution was used to compare incident rate ratios (IRRs) by gender.
Brett D. Owens
Men had a 30% higher overall incidence rate for injury compared with women (IRR=1.30; 95% CI, 1.09-1.54), while injury distribution was dictated by gender. One hundred fifty-one men incurred 459 injuries in 121,624 AEs; 71 women sustained 200 injuries during 68,633 AEs.
Women displayed a greater incidence rate for ACL injury compared with men (IRR=5.32; 95% CI, 1.33-30.53). Men had 27 fractures, making them more likely to sustain a fracture compared with women, who had six (IRR=2.54; 95% CI, 1.03-7.52). Men sustained far more open wounds (n=58) than women (n=5; IRR=6.55; 95% CI, 2.65-20.01), and their rate for acromioclavicular joint injury was 2.2 times greater than that of women (IRR=2.19; 05% CI, 1.03-5.19).
“This study illustrates some key differences in injury patterns between male and female American rugby players that may reflect underlying sex differences and contrasting playing styles,” the researchers concluded. “Male players often have an American football background where they are accustomed to tackling with helmets and protective padding, which are not used in rugby, whereas female players at the college level may have limited experience with collision sports and tackling.”
Disclosure: See the full study for a complete list of relevant financial disclosures.