Recent trends in rugby union injuries.

Rugby union has changed in recent years because of several rule modifications and the 1995 advent of professionalism. Trends in rugby union injury epidemiology include: higher incidence of injury than other team sports, an apparent increase in injury risk in professional and amateur games since the advent of professionalism, reduction in injury incidence with decreasing age and competitive level, significantly higher incidence of injuries during matches compared with training, and a high proportion of tackle injuries. The commonest high-risk injury sites are the shoulder, knee, thigh, ankle, and head. Although injury research publications have increased since 1995, studies investigating risk factors for specific high-risk injuries (including nonfatal catastrophic injury) and to assess the effects of discrete prevention strategies need prioritizing.