Reduced severity of lumbo-pelvic-hip injuries in professional Rugby Union players following tailored preventative programmes

Objectives: The aim of this study was to tailor lumbo-pelvic-hip (LPH) injury reduction programmes in professional rugby union players based on screening data and examine its effectiveness. Design: Prospective case controlled study. Methods: Twenty-eight professional rugby union players were screened pre- and immediately post- the YO-YO intermittent recovery level 1 test using six hip and groin strength tests (adductor squeeze at 0° 60° and 90° prone hip extension, abductor, adductor hand held dynamometry). The changes in hip and groin measures, were analysed using hierarchical cluster analysis. Three clusters emerged and a tailored LPH injury reduction programme was administered for each cluster. In addition, 22 players who were not involved in the initial testing received a generic LPH injury reduction programme and were used as the control. Seasonal information for LPH injury incidence, severity and prevalence were compared to the previous season. Results: The same number of injuries were observed when the prospective injury surveillance data was compared to the previous season, however a reduced injury severity (936 days vs 468 days), average severity (78 ± 126 days vs 42 ± 37 days) and prevalence (21% vs 19%) were found. Moreover, LPH injury severity for players who were prescribed a tailored injury reduction programme (209 days) were 50 days less than players given a generic LPH injury reduction programme (259 days). Conclusions: Our preliminary observations support the effectiveness of grouping players and tailoring intervention based on common group characteristics in reducing the severity of LPH injuries in professional Rugby Union.