Miller J Chance, Stein Kenneth Shubin, Moon Tyler J, Trofa David P, Kerr Hamish, Bottiglieri Thomas, Ahmad C S
Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
Orthop J Sports Med. 2021 Jan 20;9(1):2325967120972141. doi: 10.1177/2325967120972141. eCollection 2021 Jan.
Rugby is the fastest growing team sport in the United States for male and female athletes. It is a contact/collision sport with an injury risk profile that includes concussions.
To examine the prevalence of concussions in male and female rugby players in the United States and to characterize behaviors around reporting concussions that could be a target for prevention and treatment efforts.
Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.
An online survey distributed to active members on the USA Rugby membership list was used to examine self-reported concussions in male and female athletes. Concussion-reporting behaviors and return to play after a concussion were also explored. Statistical analysis was used to compare male with female athletes and report differences, with years of experience as a dependent variable.
The proportion of athletes with a history of at least 1 concussion was 61.9% in all respondents. Of those who reported a concussion, 50.8% reported the concussion during the game or practice in which it occurred, and 57.6% reported at least 1 concussion to a qualified medical provider. Overall, 27.7% of participants who reported ≥1 rugby-related concussion in our survey noted that at least 1 of these concussions was not formally reported. The most commonly cited reasons for not reporting a concussion included not thinking that it was a serious injury, not knowing that it was a concussion at the time, and not wanting to be pulled out of the game or practice. Additionally, 61.0% of athletes did not engage in recommended return-to-play protocols after their most recent rugby-related concussion.
US rugby union athletes may not report concussions to medical personnel or follow return-to-play protocols guided by medical advice. This could result from a lack of education on concussion recognition and the risks associated with continued play after a concussion as well as limited access to health care. Further education efforts focusing on the identification of concussions, removal from play, and return-to-play protocols are necessary in the US rugby union population.
橄榄球是美国男女运动员中发展最快的团体运动。它是一项接触/碰撞性运动，受伤风险包括脑震荡。
研究美国男女橄榄球运动员脑震荡的患病率，并描述可能成为预防和治疗目标的脑震荡报告行为。
横断面研究；证据等级，3级。
通过向美国橄榄球会员名单上的现役会员发放在线调查问卷，来调查男女运动员自我报告的脑震荡情况。还探讨了脑震荡报告行为以及脑震荡后的恢复参赛情况。采用统计分析比较男女运动员，并报告差异，以参赛年限作为因变量。
在所有受访者中，有至少1次脑震荡病史的运动员比例为61.9%。在报告脑震荡的运动员中，50.8%在脑震荡发生的比赛或训练期间报告了该情况，57.6%向合格的医疗服务提供者报告了至少1次脑震荡。总体而言，在我们的调查中报告≥1次与橄榄球相关脑震荡的参与者中，27.7%指出这些脑震荡中至少有1次未正式报告。未报告脑震荡的最常见原因包括不认为这是重伤、当时不知道这是脑震荡以及不想被从比赛或训练中换下。此外，61.0%的运动员在最近一次与橄榄球相关的脑震荡后未遵循推荐的恢复参赛方案。
美国橄榄球联盟运动员可能不会向医务人员报告脑震荡，也不会遵循医疗建议指导的恢复参赛方案。这可能是由于对脑震荡识别以及脑震荡后继续参赛的风险缺乏教育，以及获得医疗保健的机会有限。在美国橄榄球联盟人群中，有必要进一步开展侧重于脑震荡识别、停止参赛和恢复参赛方案的教育工作。
