906 MEP074 – Influence of playing on artificial, hybrid or natural pitch surfaces on foot, toe and ankle injury risk in men’s professional rugby union in England (2013–2021)

AbstractBackground Previous studies in rugby have indicated greater severity and burden of overall match injury on artificial surfaces compared with natural grass surfaces, with specific differences identified for hip/groin and foot/toe injuries. Objective To examine the influence of playing surface on foot, toe and ankle injury rates in men's professional rugby. Design Secondary analysis of match injury data from a prospective cohort study.Setting Professional men's Rugby Union in England Participants Professional men's rugby players from the English Premiership (2013/14–2020/21)Assessment of Risk Factors Pitch surface (natural, hybrid, or artificial).Outcome measures Incidence (/1000 h), severity (days lost), and burden (days lost/1000 h) of foot/toe and ankle injuries recorded by medical staff at clubs Results Incidence of foot, toe and ankle injuries was not different on different surfaces, but injuries sustained on artificial surfaces resulted in greater mean severity than those sustained on natural grass (artificial 61 days, 95% CI: 49 – 74, vs. hybrid 48 days, 95% CI: 42 – 55, vs. natural 40 days, 95% CI: 34 – 48 ). Players in the forwards sustained injuries of greater severity on artificial surfaces (artificial 75 days, 95% CI: 57 – 98, vs. hybrid 56 days, 95% CI: 47 – 67, vs. natural 38 days, 95% CI: 30 – 47) however, this was not the case with the backs (artificial 41 days, 95% CI: 30 – 56, vs. hybrid 40 days, 95% CI 34 – 48, vs. natural 44 days, 95% CI: 34 – 57).Conclusions Severity of foot, toe and ankle injuries was greater on artificial than natural surfaces, although this was only the case for forwards. This might be due to forwards being involved in high traction events such as the scrum and possibly because forwards often wear longer studs to increase traction in these events.View this table:View inline View popup Abstract 906 Table 1 Incidence, mean/median severity and mean burden values for combined foot/toe and ankle, foot/toe and ankle only injuries across the 2013/14 – 2020/21 seasonsDownload figure Open in new tab Download powerpoint Abstract 906 Figure 1