Injuries in Canadian female high school rugby and coach perceptions of injury prevention: Informing an injury prevention implementation strategy

Date
2021-01-06
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Abstract
This MSc thesis contains two projects focused on Canadian high school rugby. The first project is an evaluation of the epidemiology of female high school rugby in a Canadian context. Objective: To describe injury rates in female high school rugby and evaluate the association between baseline risk factors and injury outcomes. Methods: Injury surveillance was completed during a two-year prospective cohort study in the Calgary female high school rugby league. Results: Injury and concussion incidence rates were 93.7 injuries/ 1000 match-hours and 37.5 concussions/ 1000 match-hours, respectively. Injury within the past twelve months was associated with higher match injury rates. Higher team playing division was associated with higher training injury rates. The second project is an evaluation of the Canadian high school rugby coaching context. Objective: To describe the Canadian high school rugby coach context and evaluate intention to use a rugby-specific neuromuscular training warm-up. Methods: High school rugby coaches participated in a 2-hour “Train-the-Coach” neuromuscular training warm-up workshop. Pre- and post-workshop questionnaires were administered. Results: Pre-workshop, 92% of coaches agreed or strongly agreed they would ‘complete a rugby-specific warm-up program prior to every game and training session this season’. Post-workshop, 85% of coaches partly or strongly agreed that they “would conduct the SHRed Injuries program in every session with their students/athletes/client”. Conclusions: Injury and concussion rates in Canadian female high school rugby are high and intention to use a rugby-specific neuromuscular training warm-up was high before and after the workshop.
Description
Keywords
Female, Rugby, Sport injury epidemiology, High school, Injury prevention, Neuromuscular training warm-up, Behaviour change, Intention, Coach workshop
Citation
Shill, I. J. (2021). Injuries in Canadian female high school rugby and coach perceptions of injury prevention: Informing an injury prevention implementation strategy (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.