EPIDEMIOLOGY OF INJURIES AND DISEASES DUE TO OVERUSE IN RUGBY: OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF THE PLAYERS OF CUS PERUGIA RUGBY

Rugby is a contact sport and for this reason is very demanding from a physical point of view. Up to now few studies describe the incidence and types of the most frequent traumas. The present study aims to evaluate the epidemiology of the major accidents related to the practice of this sport. Materials and methods: We collected data on a total of 321 players belonging to the Sports Club "CUS Rugby Perugia" for a total of three years taking into consideration the type of injury, the part of the body concerned, if the injury occurred during official competitions or in training, and also the lapse of time necessary for recovery. Results: We had a total of 240 accidents (45.8% of minor gravity, 36.6% of average gravity and 17.6% serious). In relation to the type of trauma, we noticed that minor injuries consisted in most cases and above all in facial injuries, while the average and the serious severity accidents affected in most cases the knees: (sprains, meniscal and ligamentous tears). Discussion: By analyzing the collected data we have noticedthat the highest number of accidents occurred during official competitions, and especially during the last minutes of the game, probably due to a greater muscle fatigue. The role of the players is also important because it correlates to a different type of risk. Conclusions: This study confirms that rugby has a higher accident rate than other contact sports. Therefore specific training strategies and techniques should be implemented, in order to reduce the incidence of injuries, especially at the level of the lower limbs.