Examples of how to record injuries under a “time-loss” recording regimen
| Example | Injury recording regimen | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time-loss (>1 day) | Medical attention | ||
| 1. | A hooker sustained an abrasion on the thigh during a ruck. The team doctor cleaned and dressed the injury after the match. The player missed one day of training | This episode should not be recorded as an injury | This episode should be recorded as an injury, severity: 1 day (slight) |
| 2. | A flanker sustained a lumbar disc injury during weight training and required 25 days rehabilitation before he could return to full training and competition | This episode should be recorded as an injury, severity: 25 days (moderate) | This episode should be recorded as an injury, severity: 25 days (moderate) |
| 3. | A winger sustained a hamstring injury during a training session and required 18 days of rehabilitation before he could return to full training and competition. The player sustained a further hamstring injury to the same muscle in the same leg 3 weeks later during a match. The second injury required 40 days of treatment and rehabilitation | The first episode should be recorded as an injury, severity: 18 days (moderate);the second episode as a recurrence(early), severity: 40 days (severe) | The first episode should be recorded as an injury, severity: 18 days (moderate); the second episode as a recurrence (early), severity: 40 days (severe) |
| 4. | A loose-head prop forward sustained a laceration to his head during a match; the player left the field of play to enable the team doctor to suture and protect the injury. The player returned to the field of play. The player continued to train and play with his head bandaged for the next 3 weeks. | This episode should not be recorded as an injury | This episode should be recorded as an injury, severity: 0 days (slight) |
| 5. | A fly-half tackled an opposing flank-forward during a match and sustained a dislocated shoulder. The player was unable to play again that season and failed to return to full training the following season. The player retired from playing rugby union before returning to full fitness | This episode should be recorded, severity: career-ending | This episode should be recorded, severity: career-ending |
| 6. | A centre suffered a minor ankle ligament injury in a match and was substituted. The player rested the next day under instruction from the team physician and returned to full training on the following day. The player subsequently sustained an injury to the same ankle ligament 7 days later during the next match. She required 35 days of treatment and rehabilitation before returning to full training | The first episode should not be recorded as an injury; the second episode should be recorded as an injury, severity:35 days (severe) | The first episode should be recorded as an injury, severity: 1 day (slight); the second episode should be recorded as a recurrence (early), severity: 35 days (severe) |
| 7. | A scrum half sustained a thigh haematoma on Saturday during a match; as a result of the injury, the player would not have been able to take part in training. However, the next training session did not take place until the following Thursday, by which time the player had recovered and was able to take a full part in training activities. | The episode should be recorded as an injury, severity: 4 days (mild) | The episode should be recorded as an injury, severity: 4 days (mild) |