Primary objective: To investigate the effect of home and away game travel on risk of concussion across different levels of rugby union.
Research design: Exploration study across school, university, and professional rugby teams.
Methods and procedures: Retrospective analysis of concussion incidence and symptomology of surveillance data and prospective data collection for potential concussions via surveys. Data was collected from school rugby teams (n = 344 matches, over 2 years), a university rugby (n = 6 matches), and a professional rugby team (n = 64 matches, over two seasons).
Main outcomes and results: School level rugby had an increased prevalence of concussions in away matches (p = 0.02). Likewise, there was a significant increase (p < 0.05) in concussions at away matches in university rugby. In addition, the professional rug by team had significant differences in recovery times and symptoms with away fixtures, including longer recovery times (p < 0.01), more initial symptoms (p < 0.01), as well as greater and more severe symptoms at 48 hours (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: This research highlights an increased prevalence of concussion in school and university-aged rugby players away from home, as well as increased symptoms, symptom severity, and recovery times in professional rugby players.
Keywords: Concussion; injury; recovery; rugby union; travel.