ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to describe the incidence, severity, and burden of injuries in Japanese male collegiate rugby union players. Initially, 170 male collegiate rugby union players from one university club were registered in this epidemiological surveillance study. The occurrence of injuries was recorded by a team medical staff during the 2017–2021 playing seasons. The incidence of injuries was 6.87 injuries/1000 h. This incidence was significantly higher during matches (100.37 injuries/1000 h) than that during training (3.63 injuries/1000 h). The severity of injuries was 31.0 days, and there were no significant differences between matches and training, or forwards and backs. The burden of injuries was 213.1 days/1000 h. This burden was significantly higher during matches (2887.8 days/1000 h) compared to training (120.1 days/1000 h). Matches had higher incidence of ankle sprain/ligament injuries (15.80 injuries/1000 h) and concussion (15.36 injuries/1000 h). The most common injury site was the ankle (1.24 injuries/1000 h). However, the greatest severity and burden were observed for knee injuries (severity: 59.1 days, burden: 48.6 days/1000 h). Furthermore, the greatest burden of injury type was knee sprain/ligament injuries (39.4 days/1000 h). In addition, the incidence of acromioclavicular joint injury was significantly higher in forwards, whereas hamstring strain was significantly higher in backs. The common injury mechanisms identified were being tackled (16.0%) and tackling (14.7%), followed by overuse (12.1%). In order to improve the player welfare of the Japanese collegiate rugby union players, it is necessary to work on the prevention strategy considering the injury profile.
ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. PURPOSE: To examine the changes in body sway using stabilometry in patients who underwent cervical laminoplasty for cervical myelopathy. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Although the patients of cervical myelopathy complain body sway there are few report to examine body sway objectively. METHODS: Patients who received treatment for cervical myelopathy between October 2010 and February 2013 were included. Twenty-one patients underwent cervical laminoplasty (myelopathy group). Body sway was assessed using stabilometry, wherein patients stood on a stabilometer with their eyes closed for 30 seconds. The Romberg ratio, outer peripheral area (OPA) with eyes closed (cm²), and total locus length per unit area (L/A) with eyes closed (/cm) were examined. Examinations were performed preoperatively (at baseline) and at 8 weeks postoperatively. Examination results of patients in the myelopathy group were compared with those of 17 healthy individuals (control group). Clinical symptoms were evaluated using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association scale score (JOA score) and the timed up and go (TUG) test. RESULTS: In the myelopathy and control groups, the mean baseline Romberg ratio, OPA, and L/A were 2.3±1.2, 8.9±5.5 cm², and 14.2±5.3/cm and 1.4±1.0, 4.3±2.8 cm², and 23.7±10.1/cm, respectively. Eight weeks after laminoplasty, only L/A showed significant improvement from baseline in the myelopathy group (23.2±10.1 to 16.8±7.9; p=0.03). The Romberg ratio and OPA showed improvement in the myelopathy group, but the changes were not statistically significant. JOA scores and TUG test results in this group significantly improved from baseline to 8 weeks after laminoplasty (12.7 to 13.4 and 10.8 to 8.0 seconds, respectively; both p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: L/A is a useful parameter for measuring body sway to assess the recovery of body sway after laminoplasty.