Incidence, site, and nature of injuries in amateur rugby league over three consecutive seasons

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Abstract
Objectives—To report the incidence, site, and nature of injuries in amateur rugby league over three consecutive seasons.Methods—Six hundred players registered with an amateur rugby league organisation were studied over three consecutive seasons. All injuries sustained during the amateur rugby league matches were recorded. Information recorded included the date and time of injury, name of injured player, anatomical site and nature of injury, and position of the player.Results—The incidence of injury was 160.6 per 1000 player-position game hours, with forwards having a significantly higher incidence of injury than backs (182.3 per 1000v142.0 per 1000, χ2= 14.60, df = 1, p2= 21.83, df = 8, p2= 17.98, df = 7, p2= 22.94, df = 1, p2= 162.29, df = 1, pConclusions—The results show that muscular injuries and injuries to the head and neck are the most commonly sustained injuries in amateur rugby league. Furthermore, injuries are more often sustained in the latter stages of the season and during the second half of matches. These findings suggest that fatigue or accumulative microtrauma, or both, may contribute to injuries in amateur rugby league players.