PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Andreas Freitag
AU  - Graham Kirkwood
AU  - Sebastian Scharer
AU  - Richard Ofori-Asenso
AU  - Allyson M Pollock
TI  - Systematic review of rugby injuries in children and adolescents under 21 years
AID  - 10.1136/bjsports-2014-093684
DP  - 2015 Apr 01
TA  - British Journal of Sports Medicine
PG  - 511--519
VI  - 49
IP  - 8
4099  - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/8/511.short
4100  - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/8/511.full
SO  - Br J Sports Med2015 Apr 01; 49
AB  - A systematic review of rugby union and league injuries among players under the age of 21 years was carried out to calculate probabilities of match injury for a player over a season and a pooled estimate of match injury incidence where studies were sufficiently similar. The probability of a player being injured over a season ranged from 6% to 90% for rugby union and 68% to 96% for rugby league. The pooled injury incidence estimate for rugby union was 26.7/1000 player-hours for injuries irrespective of need for medical attention or time-loss and 10.3/1000 player-hours for injuries requiring at least 7 days absence from games; equivalent to a 28.4% and 12.1% risk of being injured over a season. Study heterogeneity contributed to a wide variation in injury incidence. Public injury surveillance and prevention systems have been successful in reducing injury rates in other countries. No such system exists in the UK.