A three-year epidemiological prospective cohort study of rugby league match injuries from the European Super League

Objectives: Conduct a comprehensive epidemiological study of match injury characteristics (incidence, severity, causes, diagnostics, and temporal trends) in professional rugby league. Design: Prospective cohort design. Methods: Data was captured over the 2013, '14, and '15 seasons, collected via an online-reporting survey tool, and underpinned by nominal group technique-agreed definitions. Injury details were provided by club medical staff in accordance to the survey fields from all European Super League teams (e.g. injury occurrence/return dates, diagnosis, mechanism, recurrence). All time-loss injuries have been reported. Results: Injury incidence of 57 injuries/1000h has been observed over the three-year period, with an average of 34days missed per injury. The final 20-min period was the most significant period for injury occurrence, and higher incidence of injury/1000h played was during the start of the season in February, although an absolute injury risk for injury frequency was shown in April due to the greatest playing time. Forward positions reported the highest injury incidence whilst tackle activities were the most frequent mechanism of injury. Concussions and hamstring strains (5 injuries/1000h) were the most commonly diagnosed injuries, although the knee joint region (10 injuries/1000h) was the most frequently injured area. Conclusions: In light of the most common injury diagnoses, mechanisms, identified seasonal risk, and time of match, the data should look to inform player preparation in terms of physical conditioning and tackle technique in order to optimise player welfare and availability for participation