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318 Injury rates in boxing: how do they compare with other sports?
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Injury rates in boxing: how do they compare with other sports?
T. Zazryn* &P. Cameron Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash Unviersity
Proponents against boxing claim its high frequency of injury warrants widespread changes or a complete banning of the sport. This is despite a lack of prospective data evaluating the risk of modernday boxing, nor an evaluation of the injury rates in it compared with other, more popular activities existing. This study aimed to describe the injury incidence in Victorian amateur and professional boxers over a one year period. Outcome measures included recording of exposure time and injuries sustained during both training and bouts. Atotal of 13 professional and 34 amateur boxers participate, with a mean age of 25.9 years (range: 15.1-37.1). At the end of six months of data collection, an estimated 5550 hours of training and 8.7 hours of competition time had been completed. Atotal of 14 injuries (11 in competition and 3 in training) were reported. Injuries included concussions, finger/nose fractures and lacerations. This corresponded to an overall injury rate of 2.5 per 1000 hours of boxing participation. This compares favourably with injury rates reported in other sports such as rugby league (males: 8.5 per 1000/hr), soccer (6.2), hockey (15.2), Australian football (20.1), bas,ketball (13.6) and netball (11.3). Definitional issues and the culture of the sport appear to have affected reporting of injuries. That being said, when exposure time is assessed, preliminary analysis indicate that the overall injury rate in boxing is lower than that reported in other more commonly participated in sports, making the call for banning the sport seem a little premature.
mIiI _
Injury risks in Rugby Union
A. Mclntosh*, T. Savage, J. Best &J. Orchard School Of Safety Science, University Of NSW
Rugby union is apopular team contact sport played by children and adults, recreationally, competitively and professionally. The Rugby Union Injury Surveillance Study (RUISS) has operated since 2000 and collects injury and participation data from players in U15 through to Wallaby teams. RU ISS has been complemented by studies of the 2003 Rugby World Cup (RWC), womens' tournaments and younger age groups (U13). Patterns and rates of injury from these cohorts are assessed with reference to risk factors across these populations. The tackle is the game event that was associated with the highest risk of injury across rugby accounting for between 26 and 69% of all injury. The ball carrier was injured more than the tackler, except U13. At RWC03 injury rates for the finalists were significantly lower (p=0.05) than for non-finalists, 83.5 to 112.5/1000 hrs, respectively. Slightly more injuries were reported in forwards than backs, with injuries to forwards more common in RUISS and RWC and backs in women and U13s. The position most injured varied with most injuries to the inside backs, halves and outside backs in RUISS, women and U13s, respectively. The most common injuries were sprain and strains, involving the thigh and shoulder in grade and representative rugby. Head and facial injuries were more common in colts and younger age groups. The effects of skill and physical development, level of competition and competitiveness on injury vary in proportion across rugby. Interventions to improve the tackle offer the greatest potential in reducing risks of injuries of all severities.
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Injury rates in boxing: how do they compare with other sports?
T. Zazryn* &P. Cameron Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash Unviersity
Proponents against boxing claim its high frequency of injury warrants widespread changes or a complete banning of the sport. This is despite a lack of prospective data evaluating the risk of modernday boxing, nor an evaluation of the injury rates in it compared with other, more popular activities existing. This study aimed to describe the injury incidence in Victorian amateur and professional boxers over a one year period. Outcome measures included recording of exposure time and injuries sustained during both training and bouts. Atotal of 13 professional and 34 amateur boxers participate, with a mean age of 25.9 years (range: 15.1-37.1). At the end of six months of data collection, an estimated 5550 hours of training and 8.7 hours of competition time had been completed. Atotal of 14 injuries (11 in competition and 3 in training) were reported. Injuries included concussions, finger/nose fractures and lacerations. This corresponded to an overall injury rate of 2.5 per 1000 hours of boxing participation. This compares favourably with injury rates reported in other sports such as rugby league (males: 8.5 per 1000/hr), soccer (6.2), hockey (15.2), Australian football (20.1), bas,ketball (13.6) and netball (11.3). Definitional issues and the culture of the sport appear to have affected reporting of injuries. That being said, when exposure time is assessed, preliminary analysis indicate that the overall injury rate in boxing is lower than that reported in other more commonly participated in sports, making the call for banning the sport seem a little premature.
mIiI _
Injury risks in Rugby Union
A. Mclntosh*, T. Savage, J. Best &J. Orchard School Of Safety Science, University Of NSW
Rugby union is apopular team contact sport played by children and adults, recreationally, competitively and professionally. The Rugby Union Injury Surveillance Study (RUISS) has operated since 2000 and collects injury and participation data from players in U15 through to Wallaby teams. RU ISS has been complemented by studies of the 2003 Rugby World Cup (RWC), womens' tournaments and younger age groups (U13). Patterns and rates of injury from these cohorts are assessed with reference to risk factors across these populations. The tackle is the game event that was associated with the highest risk of injury across rugby accounting for between 26 and 69% of all injury. The ball carrier was injured more than the tackler, except U13. At RWC03 injury rates for the finalists were significantly lower (p=0.05) than for non-finalists, 83.5 to 112.5/1000 hrs, respectively. Slightly more injuries were reported in forwards than backs, with injuries to forwards more common in RUISS and RWC and backs in women and U13s. The position most injured varied with most injuries to the inside backs, halves and outside backs in RUISS, women and U13s, respectively. The most common injuries were sprain and strains, involving the thigh and shoulder in grade and representative rugby. Head and facial injuries were more common in colts and younger age groups. The effects of skill and physical development, level of competition and competitiveness on injury vary in proportion across rugby. Interventions to improve the tackle offer the greatest potential in reducing risks of injuries of all severities.
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