Pro rugby players get more injuries

Researchers led by Fabien Pillard of the Larrey University Hospital Centre in Toulouse, south-western France, report their findings in the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, published by the National Institute for Health Surveillance (INVS).

How the study was done
Pillard monitored 12 percent of the matches played in the 2005 - 2006 season in the French amateur first division, and compared this with a previous study carried out in 2001-2002 in the professional league.

Amateurs and professionals had roughly the same number of injuries, but professionals had twice as many injuries that were categorised as severe. The most frequent injuries were muscle, knee and ankle strains.

The players likeliest to get hurt were props, back-row forwards and three-quarters. And most injuries were sustained in mauls, tackling and fast-flowing phases of the game. The study was requested by the French Rugby Federation (FFR). – (Sapa)

March 2008

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