Injuries in Rugby League: Incidence, Influences, Tackles and Return to Play Decisions
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INJURIES IN RUGBY LEAGUE: INCIDENCE, INFLUENCES, TACKLES AND RETURN TO PLAY DECISIONS Douglas Alistair King A thesis submitted to the Auckland University of Technology in fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2010 School of Sport and Recreation Primary Supervisor - Professor Patria Hume 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents .........................................................................................................................2 List of Figures ...............................................................................................................................9 List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. 10 Attestation of authorship ........................................................................................................... 16 Candidate contributions to co-authored papers ...................................................................... 17 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 19 Ethics ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 21 Personal View ............................................................................................................................. 22 Research publications resulting from this Doctoral Thesis ................................................... 30 Chapter 1: Introduction and rationalisation (Preface) ............................................................. 35 Chapter 2: Match and training injuries in rugby league: A review of published studies ...... 41 Overview ............................................................................................................................... 41 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 42 Aim ............................................................................................................................. 43 Methods ................................................................................................................................ 43 Findings ................................................................................................................................ 43 Injury definitions for rugby league ............................................................................... 45 Definition of injury exposure and injury rate for rugby league ..................................... 47 Definition of injury severity for rugby league ............................................................... 52 Classification of injury site and injury type for rugby league ........................................ 53 Match versus training rugby league injuries .......................................................................... 54 Injury rates for rugby league matches and training ..................................................... 54 Incidence of severe injuries in rugby league matches and training ............................. 55 Site and type of rugby league injuries during matches and training ............................ 56 Cause of rugby league injuries during matches and training ...................................... 58 Type of player injured during matches and training - Forwards versus backs ............ 59 Time of injury during matches and training ................................................................. 60 Seasonal variations for match and training injuries ..................................................... 60 2 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter 3: A review of the physiological and anthropometrical characteristics of rugby league players ............................................................................................................. 64 Overview ............................................................................................................................... 64 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 64 Rationale for review .................................................................................................... 65 Objective ............................................................................................................................... 66 Methods ................................................................................................................................ 66 Findings ................................................................................................................................ 66 Body composition ....................................................................................................... 66 Anaerobic endurance .................................................................................................. 68 Maximal aerobic power ............................................................................................... 69 Speed and sprint ability .............................................................................................. 71 Agility .......................................................................................................................... 73 Muscular strength and power...................................................................................... 75 Changes over a season .............................................................................................. 77 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 78 Chapter 4: Rugby league injuries in New Zealand: A review of eight years of Accident Compensation Corporation injury entitlement claims and costs ........................... 79 Overview ............................................................................................................................... 79 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 80 Methods ................................................................................................................................ 81 Ethical consent ........................................................................................................... 82 Statistical analyses ..................................................................................................... 84 Results .................................................................................................................................. 84 Total injury entitlement claims and costs by district .................................................... 86 Total injury entitlement claims and costs by injury site ............................................... 86 Total injury entitlement claims and costs by injury type .............................................. 90 Total injury entitlement claims and costs by age and gender ...................................... 90 Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 91 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 95 3 Chapter 5: Rugby league injuries in New Zealand: Variations in injury claims and costs by ethnicity, gender, age, district, body site, injury type and occupation .................. 97 Overview ............................................................................................................................... 97 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 98 Data limitations ........................................................................................................... 99 Methods ................................................................................................................................ 99 Ethical consent ......................................................................................................... 102 Statistical analyses ................................................................................................... 102 Results ................................................................................................................................ 102 Total injury claims by district and ethnicity ................................................................ 105 Total injury claims by injury type and ethnicity .......................................................... 105 Total injury claims by injury site and ethnicity ........................................................... 105 Total injury claims by occupation and ethnicity ......................................................... 109 Total injury claims by gender and ethnicity ............................................................... 109 Discussion .......................................................................................................................... 112 Conclusions