Padded Headgear does not Reduce the Incidence of Match Concussions in
                    Professional Men’s Rugby Union: A Case-control Study of 417
                    Cases

Keith A. Stokes; Matthew Cross; Sean Williams; Carly McKay; Brent E. Hagel; Stephen W. West; Simon Paul Roberts; Ricardo T. Sant’Anna; Edward Morrison; Simon Kemp

doi:10.1055/a-1345-9163

International Journal of Sports Medicine, Table of Contents

Int J Sports Med 2021; 42(10): 930-935
DOI: 10.1055/a-1345-9163

Training & Testing

Padded Headgear does not Reduce the Incidence of Match Concussions in Professional Men’s Rugby Union: A Case-control Study of 417 Cases

Authors

Keith A. Stokes

¹Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

²Medical Services, Rugby Football Union, Twickenham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Matthew Cross

¹Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

³Rugby Department, Premiership Rugby, Twickenham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Sean Williams

¹Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Carly McKay

¹Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Brent E. Hagel

⁴Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

⁵Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary, Canada

⁶O’Brien Institute of Public Health, University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary, Canada

⁷Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary, Canada
Stephen W. West

¹Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Simon Paul Roberts

¹Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Ricardo T. Sant’Anna

¹Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Edward Morrison

¹Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Simon Kemp

²Medical Services, Rugby Football Union, Twickenham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

⁸Faculty of Epidemiology and Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Faculty of Epidemiology and Public Health, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Abstract

Concussion is the most common match injury in rugby union. Some players wear padded headgear, but whether this protects against concussion is unclear. In professional male rugby union players, we examined: (i) the association between the use of headgear and match concussion injury incidence, and (ii) whether wearing headgear influenced time to return to play following concussion. Using a nested case-control within a cohort study, four seasons (2013–2017) of injury data from 1117 players at the highest level of rugby union in England were included. Cases were physician-diagnosed concussion injuries. Controls were other contact injuries (excluding all head injuries). We determined headgear use by viewing video footage. Sixteen percent of cases and controls wore headgear. Headgear use had no significant effect on concussion injury incidence (adjusted odds ratio=1.05, 95% CI: 0.71–1.56). Median number of days absent for concussion whilst wearing headgear was 8 days, compared with 7 days without headgear. Having sustained a concussion in the current or previous season increased the odds of concussion more than four-fold (odds ratio=4.55, 95% CI: 3.77–5.49). Wearing headgear was not associated with lower odds of concussions or a reduced number of days' absence following a concussion.

Key words

traumatic brain injury - mTBI - sports injury - injury prevention - equipment - concussion severity

Full Text

References

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