title: Systematic review of rugby injuries in children and adolescents under 21 years.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Freitag
authors.affiliation: Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kirkwood
authors.affiliation: Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scharer
authors.affiliation: Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ofori-Asenso
authors.affiliation: Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Allyson M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pollock
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003288:Contusions / Q000453:epidemiology; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology; D005121:Extremities / Q000293:injuries; D005260:Female; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries*; D006406:Hematoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000453:epidemiology; D022125:Lacerations / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000453:epidemiology; D060726:Torso / Q000293:injuries; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescent; Child; Concussion; Rugby; Sporting injuries