Injuries sustained in rugby by wearers and non-wearers of mouthguards.

J B Blignaut, I L Carstens, C J Lombard

Previous studies have shown a higher prevalence of head and neck injuries in non-wearers when compared with wearers of mouthguards. The purpose of the present study was to compare the pattern of injuries to those of past studies and also to investigate whether the injuries sustained differed significantly between wearers and non-wearers. A sample of 321 university students participating on 555 player occasions was studied in a cross-sectional survey. No statistically significant differences (p greater than 0.05) were found between wearers and non-wearers of mouthguards with respect to head and neck injuries in general and to oral injuries in particular. We conclude that injuries sustained at rugby in this study were not associated with the use or non-use of mouthguards.

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