675 BO10 – Are injury rates higher in elite men’s rugby league compared to elite women’s rugby league? Time to level the playing field

Background There is a lack of injury research in elite women's rugby league, and the research in the men's game is outdated. Therefore, injury epidemiology research is required. Objective To compare match injury incidence, severity, and burden in elite rugby league. Design Prospective cohort study Setting Elite men's and women's rugby league in England Participants 98% of teams recorded data Assessment of Risk Factors Independent variables were level (men's or women's), and the characteristics were injury region, location, mechanism, and time in match with an interaction term between the two independent variables. Main Outcome Measurements Time loss injury and match exposure data were collected across two seasons. Injury incidence (number of injuries per 1,000-hrs of matches), injury severity (days lost due to injury) and burden (days lost due to injury per 1,000-hrs of matches) were calculated. Results There were 618 and 321 injuries from 11,301 and 5,244 hours of match exposure for men and women. Injury incidence (men: 54 45 to 65; women: 60 49 to 74 p=0.39) and burden (men: 2332 1844 to 2951; women: 1951 1560 to 2440 p=0.26) did not differ between men and women despite injury severity being greater for men (men: 42 35 to 50; women; 35 29 to 42 p=0.01). Head/face had the highest injury incidence for men (12 9–16) and women (13 9–18). Being tackled was the predominant injury mechanism accounting for 28% and 38% of injuries for men and women. Conclusions Men and women rugby league players have similar injury incidence and burden, however injury severity is greater in men's rugby league. Head/face injuries have the highest injury incidence, which should be focus for injury prevention initiatives. Injury prevention interventions are required in rugby league at a law, player and coach level in both men's and women's rugby league.