Self-reported prevalence, type, severity and management of musculoskeletal injuries among high school rugby players in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropole

[摘要] ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: The number of rugby players and match activities has increased and heightened the risk of injuries since the introduction of Rugby's professional status by the International Board of Rugby in 1995. Several types of cohort studies were done on the epidemiology of rugby injuries, including studies in the adolescent population, as the adolescent player aspires to play professionally. Fewer studies involved a self-reported questionnaire. Aim of study: This study aimed to determine the self-reported prevalence, type and severity of rugby-related musculoskeletal injuries, as well as the treatment of the relevant injuries, if any, as reported by high school rugby players attending top rugby schools in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole (NMBM), Eastern Cape situated in South Africa, using a specifically designed questionnaire.Methods: A self-reported questionnaire to determine the prevalence, type, severity and management of adolescent rugby injuries in the NMBM was developed in this study. The questionnaire was administered to adolescent rugby players at top rugby schools in the NMBM area. The questionnaire was completed electronically via SurveyMonkey® or in paper format to collect information related to the prevalence, type, severity and management of injuries in the adolescent rugby player was collected.Results: A detailed self-reported questionnaire was developed using previous questionnaires. Focus was placed on the clarification of terms so that adolescents would understand what was being asked. Findings regarding the prevalence of injuries among this group found that head and face injuries, including concussions, shoulder and knee injuries were mostly reported. Similar findings have been found in other national and international studies. Most of the injuries were described as soft tissue-injuries and were predominant muscular injuries. Overall, most of the injuries were described as mild. The respondents indicated physiotherapy as the treatment option most utilised, whereas other studies identified first aiders, medication and other medical treatment as the chief management options. However, the response of 41.9% could not be considered representative of the chosen population and the results have to be viewed with caution.Conclusion: The prevalence of injuries among high school rugby players attending top rugby schools in the NMBM area of South Africa was found to be on par with other studies. A specifically-developed self-reported questionnaire describing the prevalence, type, severity and management of injuries in the adolescent rugby player can provide easy and significant information to be used in the development of preventative, curative and rehabilitative strategies and programmes among similar populations. Clarifying of the terminology used in the questionnaire with the help of a trained medical person during the rugby season could provide more reliable and clear answers and could minimise possible bias. Better accessibility to the questionnaire could improve the response rate to make the collected data more representative. Further reliability and validation of similar questionnaires is however required.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University