Evaluation of RugbySmart: a rugby union community injury prevention programme.

RugbySmart, a rugby union injury prevention programme, was launched in New Zealand in 2001. It was compulsory for all coaches and referees to complete RugbySmart requirements annually in order to continue coaching or refereeing. After 5 years of implementation the programme partners, Accident Compensation Corporation and New Zealand Rugby Union, evaluated RugbySmart to determine its effectiveness in reducing injuries. The purpose was to evaluate the effect of RugbySmart on reducing injury rates per 100,000 players and resulting injury prevention behaviours. The RugbySmart programme was associated with a decrease in injury claims per 100,000 players in most areas the programme targeted; the programme had negligible impact on non-targeted injury sites. The decrease in injury claims numbers was supported by results from the player behaviour surveys pre- and post-RugbySmart. There was an increase in safe behaviour in the contact situations of tackle, scrum and ruck technique.

Incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injury and other knee ligament injuries: a national population-based study.

There has been an intensive research effort directed at determining the cause of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury over the past decade, but few studies have reported data on the incidence of ACL and other knee ligament injury in the general population. New Zealand's no-fault injury compensation data provides a national injury resource of data on claims for knee ligament injury. The goal of this paper was to provide a descriptive epidemiology of knee ligament injury in this country. Data were obtained for knee ligament injuries between 1 July 2000 and 30 June 2005. Injuries were categorised as non-surgical (NS), ACL surgeries (ACLS) and other knee ligament surgeries (OKLS). Incidence rates per 100,000 person-years were computed using population estimates. Costs and number of treatment/rehabilitation visits were obtained as an indication of severity. The incidence rate per 100,000 person-years was 1147.1 for NS, 36.9 for ACLS and 9.1 for OKLS. Males had a higher incidence rate than females for NS, ACLS, and OKLS. The mean (and median) number of treatment visits were NS: 6.6 (4), ACLS: 27.1 (24), and OKLS: 31.3 (24). The mean (median) treatment costs of these injuries were NS $885 ($129), ACLS $11,157 ($8574), and OKLS $15,663 ($8054). Analysis of injury descriptions for ACLS injuries indicated that 58% involved a non-contact mechanism of injury. These data underscore the high level of short-term disability associated with knee ligament injuries, especially ACL injuries that require surgery.

Effect of nationwide injury prevention programme on serious spinal injuries in New Zealand rugby union: ecological study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of RugbySmart, a nationwide educational injury prevention programme, on the frequency of spinal cord injuries. DESIGN: Ecological study. SETTING: New Zealand rugby union. PARTICIPANTS: Population at risk of injury comprised all New Zealand rugby union players. INTERVENTION: From 2001, all New Zealand rugby coaches and referees have been required to complete RugbySmart, which focuses on educating rugby participants about physical conditioning, injury management, and safe techniques in the contact phases of rugby. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Numbers of all spinal injuries due to participation in rugby union resulting in permanent disablement in 1976-2005, grouped into five year periods; observed compared with predicted number of spinal injuries in 2001-5. RESULTS: Eight spinal injuries occurred in 2001-5, whereas the predicted number was 18.9 (relative rate=0.46, 95% confidence interval 0.19 to 1.14). Only one spinal injury resulted from scrums over the period; the predicted number was 9.0 (relative rate=0.11, 0.02 to 0.74). Corresponding observed and predicted rates for spinal injuries resulting from other phases of play (tackle, ruck, and maul) were 7 and 9.0 (relative rate=0.83, 0.29 to 2.36). CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of the RugbySmart programme coincided with a reduction in the rate of disabling spinal injuries arising from scrums in rugby union. This study exemplifies the benefit of educational initiatives in injury prevention and the need for comprehensive injury surveillance systems for evaluating injury prevention initiatives in sport.