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Latest Research
Research Details
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| Research Title: |
Association of ground hardness with injuries in rugby union. |
| Type of Research: |
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| Category: |
Environment
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| Keywords: |
Ground, Condition, Hardness, Rugby, Environmental
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| Author(s): |
Masahiro Takemura, Anthony G Schneiders, Melanie L Bell, Peter D Milburn |
| Author(s) Bio Box: |
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| Release Date: |
05 February 2008 |
| Research Summary/Text: |
The change of ground condition that occurs from autumn to late winter or early spring has been considered a contributor to the observed decline in injury incidence throughout the rugby playing season. Because of the nature of rugby union ground hardness is considered to be a major contributor to injury. Ground hardness is a combination of soil structure, soil compaction and grass type, all of which can be moderated by weather conditions and usage. A prospective epidemiological study of match injuries was conducted on 271 New Zealand rugby union players throughout the 2002 season. Ground hardness and local weather conditions were recorded for each match.
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| Research Objectives: |
The study aimed at examining the contribution of ground hardness, rainfall and evapotranspiration to injury incidence in premier grade club rugby union.
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| Research Outcomes: |
The study recorded an injury incidence of 52 per 1000 player-hours with an early season injury bias in which there were twice as many injuries reported in the first half of the season than in the second half. Ground hardness decreased significantly throughout the rugby season, especially during the first half of the competition. However, no significant association between injury rate and ground hardness was demonstrated. In fact, no single variable (ground hardness, round, rainfall, evapotranspiration) showed a significantly strong association with injury incident to identify it clearly as the cause of the increased injury incidence in the early part of the season. Early seasonal bias of injury due to factors identified in other studies (eg. attrition of injury-prone cohort early in the season) may be a confounding factor possibly masking other relationships.
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| Research Implications: |
In this study the contribution of ground hardness to injury incidence was more driven by the time of the season than by environmental factors. Soil composition and grass type are interactive factors worth investigating.
Ground hardness may be an indirect factor in rugby injury through providing increased traction, acceleration and greater collision forces.
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