Injuries in Rugby League

Introduction Reasons for Injury in Rugby League. Studies of injury in rugby league football have previously reported rates of injury higher than for many other team sports (Gissane et al., 1998). This may be due to the fact that rugby league is a contact sport in which athletes experience a large number of high speed body collisions, which, along with the effects of varying field conditions makes it a very physically demanding sport. Although the use …

…makes the player work harder. This could account for an increase in injury as possible early development of muscle fatigue in muscles around the knee brace might decrease the stability and control of the knee and ankle (Styf et al., 1992). However, another report showed that athletes with unstable or previously injured knees were able to cut better with the brace on, possibly as a psychological result of feeling the support to their bad knee (Gates, 1986).