Rugby is regarded around the world as a high intensity, physical, and challenging sport. In the United States, it is regarded as a barbaric, un-regulated, and foolish sport. This misconception comes from the widely inaccurate notion that concussion among other injuries is inevitable in the sport. Rugby is beginning to take hold in high schools across the countries, and young adult athletes are the first generation to bring this internationally recognized sport to America. The idea of rugby being not safe however has also leaked into adolescent athletes. Students’ choice to play rugby in high school is being influenced negatively by a false idea of concussion injury due to a misunderstanding of rugby injuries.
The human brain is surprisingly …show more content…
Insert citation for Injuries sustained by high school rugby players in US 2005-2006 JAMA Pediatrics The head is the most common place to sustain an injury, with twenty-one percent, followed by the ankle, thirteen percent, and the shoulder, twelve percent. Clearly the head is at the greatest risk of injury. Among common injuries, concussion is the second most prevalent, fifteen percent of all injuries in rugby are concussions. Over half of all of the injuries sustained in rugby are directly due to tackling and being tackled while playing in a match. Compared to similar sports, football and hockey, rugby is actually as safe as, or safer, in terms of injuries sustained per 1000 playing hours. This is explained in enter citation of concussion in youth rugby union and rugby league: a systematic review. In rugby, concussions are sustained on average between five to fourteen times for every 1000 playing hours. Dr. Clay Seiple, a sports medicine physician practicing in Hudson Ohio, was interviewed for his take on the relevance of concussion in rugby. When asked about the difference between concussion rate in contact sports, he commented that “Rugby, football and soccer are all about the same as to their rates of concussions.” In his years of practicing sports medicine, he agrees with the data supporting the claim that rugby is as safe as other contact sports. Rugby is not inherently a more dangerous sport, the danger lies in not following standard safety protocol during matches. There are very clearly set rules on how to safely be physical in rugby, and how to correctly wear the appropriate padding and equipment to prevent
The human brain is surprisingly …show more content…
Insert citation for Injuries sustained by high school rugby players in US 2005-2006 JAMA Pediatrics The head is the most common place to sustain an injury, with twenty-one percent, followed by the ankle, thirteen percent, and the shoulder, twelve percent. Clearly the head is at the greatest risk of injury. Among common injuries, concussion is the second most prevalent, fifteen percent of all injuries in rugby are concussions. Over half of all of the injuries sustained in rugby are directly due to tackling and being tackled while playing in a match. Compared to similar sports, football and hockey, rugby is actually as safe as, or safer, in terms of injuries sustained per 1000 playing hours. This is explained in enter citation of concussion in youth rugby union and rugby league: a systematic review. In rugby, concussions are sustained on average between five to fourteen times for every 1000 playing hours. Dr. Clay Seiple, a sports medicine physician practicing in Hudson Ohio, was interviewed for his take on the relevance of concussion in rugby. When asked about the difference between concussion rate in contact sports, he commented that “Rugby, football and soccer are all about the same as to their rates of concussions.” In his years of practicing sports medicine, he agrees with the data supporting the claim that rugby is as safe as other contact sports. Rugby is not inherently a more dangerous sport, the danger lies in not following standard safety protocol during matches. There are very clearly set rules on how to safely be physical in rugby, and how to correctly wear the appropriate padding and equipment to prevent