Illness during the 2010 Super 14 Rugby Union tournament - a prospective study involving 22 676 player days

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Illness significantly impacts athlete consultations with team physicians.
• Elite athletes face unique health challenges during demanding competitions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the incidence, type, cause, and consequences of illness in Rugby Union players.
• To analyze illness patterns during a 16-week professional rugby tournament.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 259 elite rugby players from 8 teams was monitored over a 16-week tournament.
• Daily illness logs were maintained by team physicians with 100% compliance.
• Data collected included illness type, system affected, symptoms, time loss, and suspected causes.

Main Results:

• The overall illness incidence was 20.7 per 1000 player-days.
• Respiratory (6.4), gastrointestinal (5.6), and skin (4.6) illnesses were most frequent.
• Infections comprised 54.5% of illnesses, with 26.1% causing ≥1 day of time loss.

Conclusions:

• Infective respiratory, gastrointestinal, and dermatological illnesses are prevalent in elite rugby players.
• Over 50% of illnesses had symptoms reported after more than 24 hours, potentially impacting player care.