the rpa
Our players give their all for team, club and country, but their lives
can change in a split second: a bad tackle, collapsed scrum, serious
concussion, an accident or illness off the pitch.When theworst
happens, Restart is there to support players and their familieswith
financial, practical and emotional support during challenging times,
including helpwithmedical treatment, rehabilitation, counselling,
education and career transition.
HowRestart Helps
• Helpwith the cost of long term or on-going
medical treatment
• Assistance to pay for equipment or home improvement
to helpwith rehabilitation or disabled access
• Support to attain qualifications and retraining in the
event of career-ending illness or injury
• A counselling service to help players and their families
cope during difficult times
• Financial support if a player is unable towork as a
result of illness or injury
• Medical research and injury prevention initiatives
to reduce future demands on charity funds
HowYouCanHelp
As an increasing number of players suffer career-ending injury, it
is vital that Restart continues to grow.We are a registered charity
(No.1113160) that relies on the support of businesses, rugby
supporters and the players themselves to raise funds each year
for those in need.
• Visit our website to get involved or donate online:
• Attend future RPA events, all of which raise funds for Restart
• Donate auction prizes at RPA Events such as The RPA Players’
Awards 2015 on the 13thMay at Battersea Evolution in London
If youwould like anymore informationonRestart
andhow toget involvedor donateplease visit
@RestartRugby
Restart
Restart, theOfficial Charity
of TheRugby Players’
Association, needs your
supportmore than ever!
RPA Charity
Professional
Rugby Injury
Surveillance
Project Report
publishedfor
2013/14
• Theoverall riskofmatchand
training injury inPremiership
Rugby clubs remainedwithin
theexpected rangeduring the
2013-14 season
• Continueddecrease in recurrent
injuries as a consequenceof
effective rehabilitation
• Concussion remains themost
commonly reportedmatch
injurywith a significant rise
in awareness likely tohave
contributed to a rise in
reported concussions
TheEnglandProfessional Rugby Injury
SurveillanceProject Report published shows
overall stabilityamong the riskofmatch
and training injuries at PremiershipRugby
clubs during the2013-14 season.
The report, whichhas beenproduced since
2002 and is themost comprehensive injury
dataset inprofessional rugby union, found that
the overall risk ofmatch and training injury
across PremiershipRugby clubs remainedwithin
‘expected range’ of season-by-season variations.
The volume of data analysed independently
by BathUniversity from all 12 Premiership clubs
and for England Senior teammatches and
trainingprovidesmore robust findings than can
be drawn from the study of a single club.
The incidents of training injury, although
fallingwithin the expected limits of variation,
was one of the highest reportedduring the study
period. There shouldbe a continued focus on
injury prevention efforts in this potentiallymore
controllable environment.
Concussionwas, for the third consecutive
season, themost commonly reported
Premiershipmatch injury constituting12.5%
of all match injuries. Improving concussion
awareness amongplayers, coaches, referees and
medical teams and concussionmanagement has
been amajor focus of the Englishprofessional
game and is likely tohave contributed to this
continued rise in concussion reporting.
InOctober 2014, amandatory online
concussion awarenessmodule for the
professional gamewas launchedby the RFU.
PremiershipRugby and the RPA, with the aim
to improve the understandingof concussion
and the behaviours needed from all groups to
manage it effectively. All registeredprofessional
players, coaches and referees completed the
modulewithin the twomonthdeadline.
The study reports a continueddecrease
in recurrent injuries as a result of effective
rehabilitation, including the use of practical tools
tohelpmedical teams and coaches evaluate
when a player is appropriately rehabilitated.
Matchhamstring injuries showed
a 50% reduction from the three previous
seasons, equating to25 injuries less per season,
reflecting a focussed injury reduction effort
across the clubs.
The 2013-14 season saw the introductionof
an electronic data collectionmethod, capturing
injury details throughRugby Squad (electronic
medical record system) while integrating existing
playermedical records, resulting in a significant
reduction in the time demandon clubmedical
staff andgeneratingpositive feedback from
practitioners.
SimonKemp, RFU’s ChiefMedical Officer
said: “The Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance
Project provides uswithobjective evidence
of trends in injury risk in the seniormen’s
professional game.
“It is important tohave a longstanding and
large scale injury surveillance project like this,
whichgoes back to2002, as it provides the
first step in any cycle of injury prevention. The
2013-14 season report, which follows results
fromprevious years, does not support the
theory that there is a rising injury trend in the
professional game.
“However the injury risk reporteddoes
highlight the need to continue the co-ordinated
approach to reduce injury risk by health care
professionals, strength and conditioners,
coaches, referees andgame administrators.”
PhilWinstanley the RugbyDirector at
PremiershipRugby added: “It’s goodnews that
the number ofmatch and training injuries at
PremiershipRugby clubs remained stable during
the 2013/14 season.
“Playerwelfare is obviously a toppriority
at PremiershipRugby and it is absolutely
essential thatwe have clear andobjective data
establishedovermany years to informour
approach to this issue.
“Everyone involved shouldbe very proudof
this projectwhich is the only one of its type in
theworld andwhich is nowdeveloping into a
significant data set.
“Wewill never be complacentwhen it
comes toplayerwelfare and the report identifies
areaswhere furtherwork is required. However,
we are alsodelighted to see the continued
decrease in recurrent injurieswhichwe believe
tobe a consequence ofmore effective
rehabilitation andmanagement of injuries.”
RichardBryan the RugbyDirector
for the Rugby Players’ Association said: “The
injury audit is a vital piece ofwork and the
2013-14 version shows that, although the
overall risk of injury in the Premiership remained
stable, the game’s stakeholders have a joint
responsibility to continue tomonitor and to
act to reduce injury riskwherever possible, for
example in seeking to reduce the risk and
severity of training injuries.
“The increase in the incidence of
concussions duringmatches is also clearly an
area thatwarrants attention, although it is
recognised that greater awareness of concussion
is a contributory factor.”
If youwould likeanymore information
on the report please contact theRPA’s
RugbyDirector, RichardBryan,
on
02030536673
You canalsoview the full report on theRPA’swebsite:
therpa.co.uk/professional-rugby-injury-surveillance-project-report-published-for-201314/
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.co.uk
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