Professors Eric Anderson and Allyson Pollock raise an indispensable issue relating to the escalation of school rugby injuries and concussion in specific (Make rugby in schools non-contact,70 health experts urge, 2 March). There has been a steady and consistent rise in rugby injury rates since the 1950s when a player could expect to be injured every 31 matches – this amounted to once every two seasons. This nearly doubled to 17 in the early 1990s. In the late 2000s there was a spike in injuries when it was reported that a quarter of all elite players would require medical or hospital treatment each playing year. This appeared to follow on from the 2009 changes in the “laws” of rugby which were the result of an IRB consultative process started in 2007 whose remit was to make rugby more attractive to watch and increase its commercial potential. The upshot of the changes increased the ball in play time from 21 to 36 minutes of the 80 allotted minutes of a match. This has resulted in tackles occurring at chest and head height and an increase in “traumatic brain injuries”.
The authors raise the indispensable issues of primary prevention and injury surveillance. The best method of assessment is a medical examination and “when in doubt, and sit them out. An independent examination is paramount. The outcome of the match should never compromise the current and future health of a player.
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Source: theguardian.com