Knee injuries can slow down thinking of rugby players — study

Knee injury is one of the most common injuries among rugby players, with severe injuries often leading to rigorous rehabilitation and medical attention which can result in players staying away for extended periods.

While players often return to play after recovery and are expected to play in a similar manner as before the injury, a new local study suggests post-injury elite rugby players slow down not only in terms of speed, but in their thinking too.

Researchers from Stellenbosch University found injured players’ running and decision-making are slower after serious knee injury when they return to play. They argue that slower decision-making after injury may result in decreased match performance and an increased risk of injury.

On the other hand, uninjured players were significantly faster when compared with the injured players over 10m and 30m speed tests. The counter movement jump outcomes showed significant improvement in the uninjured participants.

About 14 male elite rugby players from the Cape Winelands and Cape Town who had sustained a severe knee injury either in a match or during training took part in the study. A severe injury was defined as a player who was unable to train for at least 28 days after sustaining injury. The time loss of the injured participants ranged between two months and 10 months from the date of the injury until return to play.

While injured players’ running speeds and decision-making times were slower, uninjured players had a “positive outcome to training and match stimulus by improving their running speed and lower body explosive power during the season”, researchers noted.

While there have been recent return to play consensus statements, researchers said “there are many questions about when an athlete can safely return to play and what is the ideal discharge criteria”.

“Medical professionals working in an elite environment make daily decisions regarding return to play although it is a challenging task to balance the athlete’s preparedness to return to the playing field and all other stakeholders such as coaches, sponsors, teammates.”

Writing in the SA Journal of Physiotherapy, lead researcher Aneurin Robyn, who is also a team physiotherapist for Stormers and Springboks, and colleagues said the latest study provides insight into the return to play physical profile of elite rugby players after injury.

He said when players are injured, they are expected to recover and perform at the same capacity as they did prior to their injury .While there is prolific research about knee injuries, studies regarding return to play after knee injuries in rugby unions remain scarce, and there is no consensus regarding the return to play criteria post-injury.

“A novel finding was the decision-making time deficit of injured players at return to play. This highlights the importance of cognitive training during injury rehabilitation as athletes make many decisions in a pressured and uncontrolled environment during a match,” Robyn said.

“Speed training development is recommended after regaining strength, balance and motor control as the athletes were slower after a severe knee injury.”

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