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Latest Exercise & Fitness News<\/h3>\n
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SATURDAY, Aug. 15, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Injuries can continue to plague<\/a> rugby players long after they retire, a new study finds.<\/p>\n Researchers examined injuries suffered by 254 retired elite and amateur rugby players and competitors in non-contact sports, such as cricket. The athletes were 21 to 82 years of age.<\/p>\n Compared to athletes who played non-contact sports, rugby players were 1.7 to 7.3 times more likely to report an injury and 2.4 to 9.7 times more likely to report long-term effects, the findings showed.<\/p>\n Rugby players reported back pain<\/a>, and severe and regular joint pain<\/a>, which they attributed to injuries suffered on the field, according to the report published online recently in the journal Sports Medicine<\/i>.<\/p>\n Concussion<\/a> was the most frequently reported injury among those who played rugby, with 81% of elite and 76% of amateur players reporting at least one during their career. Concussion<\/a> was most often associated with reports of long-term impacts.<\/p>\n About half of players had suffered a knee ligament injury, with 25% experiencing ongoing problems.<\/p>\n Osteoarthritis<\/a> — which causes joints to become painful and stiff — was two times more common in elite rugby players than in non-contact athletes. It was associated with previous injuries and surgery. More than half of retired elite players said they had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis<\/a>, according to the study.<\/p>\n Study author Karen Hind, of the department of sport and exercise<\/a> sciences at Durham University in the United Kingdom, said injury rates remain high despite initiatives and rule changes to improve safety.<\/p>\n “The game is now also faster, and players are bigger than they used to be so the impacts are greater,” she said in a university news release.<\/p>\n Hind noted that many of the study participants competed more than a decade ago when rugby was more about evasion.<\/p>\n “The injury levels for these individuals are up to ninefold higher than for former non-contact athletes of a similar age,” she said. “What we need to consider is that the game today is more about players running<\/a> through opponents rather than evading — this is inevitably going to increase injury risk.”<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n ![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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