Premium
The effectiveness of the nationwide B ok S mart rugby injury prevention program on catastrophic injury rates
Author(s) -
Brown J. C.,
Verhagen E.,
Knol D.,
Van Mechelen W.,
Lambert M. I.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.12414
Subject(s) - poisson regression , injury prevention , medicine , confidence interval , poison control , occupational safety and health , rate ratio , suicide prevention , physical therapy , medical emergency , environmental health , population , pathology
Rugby U nion (“rugby”) participants have a higher than average risk of injury compared with participants of other popular team sports. B ok S mart, a nationwide injury prevention program was launched in S outh A frica in mid‐2009, with the goal of reducing catastrophic head/neck (serious) injuries in players. The program provides injury prevention information to coaches and referees. This study investigated if B ok S mart has been associated with a reduction in these injuries. The B ok S mart program collected data on all S outh A frican rugby‐related serious injuries since 2008. Using a P oisson regression, injury numbers were compared pre‐ B ok S mart (2008–2009) to the years post‐implementation (2010–2013). Player numbers were assumed to be constant throughout this evaluation: junior = 529 483; senior = 121 663. In junior players, the “post‐ B ok S mart” period had 2.5 less annual serious injuries than “pre‐ B ok S mart” (incidence rate ratio: 0.6, 95% confidence interval: 0.5–0.7, P < 0.000). In contrast, there was no significant difference in these periods in seniors. The absence of effect in seniors may be a result of fewer players or of differences in effectiveness of B ok S mart in this group – future studies should investigate these questions.