Clear
distinction should be drawn between acute rugby injuries (those that occur
during a match or a practice) and chronic injuries (which are longstanding ones
that may present at any time).
It is the group of acute catastrophic injuries, namely
neck and head injuries that grab the news headlines and thereby cause great
concern amongst both rugby persons and the general public alike since these
injuries may result in permanent disabilities and death.
It
is through this window, which represents a small percentage of all injuries
sustained in rugby, that the safety of rugby as a sport is often judged and
questioned.
It is the fiduciary duty of SA
Rugby as custodians of this game to dispel this notion by creating the
environment for all its players to ensure their safety, diminish the risk of
injuries and make the game more enjoyable. We have always accepted that duty.
Since
1993 SA Rugby began taking stock of its Provinces and established that there was
a serious lack of first aid support at most of the matches played at club level
in particular. Reasons cited for this
included:
SARU
through its Medical Department wrote a booklet highlighting the management of
common rugby injuries, both life threatening and non-life threatening. With the
aid of a sponsor we embarked on a series of one-day training courses for rugby
clubs throughout SA until 2000 using this booklet as a guide.
More
than 2000 persons were trained in basic first aid procedures including the
management of acute spinal injuries
Areas
included:
In
spite of this, 2001 was a very bad year in terms of a sudden increase in the
number of catastrophic injuries especially amongst schoolboys.
Factors
identified that contributed towards this unacceptable situation included:
SARU
increased its funding of the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Fund and in
conjunction with the Fund launched the Power of Prevention Campaign, which
consisted of:
·
Spine Line
·
Coaches Logbook
which was developed in conjunction with the SA Rugby Coaching Department and
which places the emphasis on correct coaching and safe techniques.
·
The Rugby Medic
Club- (Training and certification of first aiders.)
Despite
all these efforts and just when we thought that we were on top of things 2006
proved to be another bad year in terms of the numbers of catastrophic
injuries and the number of so called near misses. Injuries to high profile
Springboks further worsened the publicity these injuries received.
Again
factors were identified which could have led to these injuries:
·
Poor field side
management by medically qualified personnel
·
Players who should
not have been playing as a result of previous injury sustained and who had not
fully recovered
·
Players continue to
be played out of position
·
Social players
·
Poor coaching
resulting in tackle phase and scrumming phase injuries
·
Foul play
·
Increased
Competitiveness at schoolboy level resulting in
o
Playing players
against medical advice
o
Encouragement of
foul play
o
The use of drugs in
sport
A
high-powered Indaba attended by numerous stakeholders including SA Rugby
gathered in August 2006 to attempt to develop a collective response to the
current unacceptable number of catastrophic injuries in SA.
Out
of this Indaba emerged certain key interventions upon which SA Rugby acted
swiftly in the establishment of the SA
Purpose of this programme is to create an
infrastructure and capacity to assume responsibility for rugby players in terms
of:
n Injury
prevention
n Injury
management
n Rehabilitation
n Education
n Player Support
n Wellness
n Research
This programme is the responsibility of SARU and as
such has to be managed in a professional, efficient manner in order to add
value to the rugby community and the performance of teams and players across
the spectrum
We believe that it a very comprehensive program
that addresses all levels of play from grassroots (mass participation) to semi
professional, professional and elite players. However the programme will obviously
identify priorities, which at this point in time would have to encompass all of
these stated areas of responsibility.
A Board consisting of both SA Rugby senior
personnel and external stakeholders will oversee the Programme
Purpose of the Board would be: Oversight and
governance, including
n Strategy and
direction
n Performance
measurement
n Reporting on
operational and financial performance to SA RUGBY
Other key elements of the programme will include:
Purpose:
q Provide clinical
oversight for the initiative
q Approve all
initiatives and programmes from a medical/clinical perspective
q Veto rights on
all initiatives and programmes
Purpose:
·
Oversee general operations of the programme
·
Assume performance responsibility
·
Co-ordinate operations
·
Manage and measure performance of all subcommittees
·
Budget preparation
·
Financial performance
·
Reporting to Board
·
Make recommendations to programme changes and
enhancements
·
Make recommendations to Medical Panel
·
Make recommendations to Board
3. HEALTH
SERVICES
Areas of
Responsibility:
n Emergency
Medical Services (
Resource requirements
Standards
Protocols
Designated receiving facilities and Disaster
Management
n Wellness
Player and family trauma support
Counselling player and family
Financial Wellness
Legal Wellness
Medical Advice
Psychological Wellness (during injury)
Wellness workshops
n Medical /
Clinical Issues
Rehabilitation programmes
Recommended Specialist list
Fieldside regulations and standards
Banned and controlled substance use and info
Rule change recommendations
Technique change recommendations
n Coaching and
Conditioning:
Techniques to maximise performance:
Avoid Injury
Reduce incidence of injury
Reduce severity of injury
Reporting requirements
Return to play timeframes
n Match Officials
/ Referees:
Implementation of recommendations
On field implementation
Injury prevention and avoidance
Injury reporting
4.BENEFITS /
VALUE ADDED SERVICES
Areas of
Responsibility:
n The
co-ordination and evaluation of potential products to be included into the
benefit design
n Consider the
issue of offering value added services
n Source products
and benefits in the market as identified and approved in other divisions
n Screen potential
service providers and products for evaluation and inclusion into benefits
Examples of
benefits / value added services:
n Emergency
Medical Assistance
n Roadside
Assistance
n Home Assistance
n Medical Aid /
Insurance
n Concierge
Services
n Security
Services
n Retirement
Benefits
n Disability /
Death Benefits
Purpose:
n To take the
programmes and information developed by other divisions and ensure that the
information is collated and disseminated
n Meet on training
objectives and targets as set
Responsibilities:
n Collation of
information
n Production of
information and educational material
n Creation of
training and education programmes
n Information
availability via various media website, call centre, pamphlets etc.
n First Aid /
First Responder training
n Train within the
sport structures those protocols developed
n Roll out of
training programmes around the country
n Evaluate
standards and effectiveness of training programmes
n Develop and
implement a life after rugby programme for players to prepare them for a
career in commerce and industry once their playing days are over
Purpose:
n
Conduct research into all
aspects of the game with the intention of gaining deeper and better
understanding of topics and dynamics thereby effecting player safety and/or
wellness and/or performance etc
Responsibilities:
n
Mechanisms of injury
n
Injury prevention and
avoidance
n
Incidence of injury
n
Optimal coping and
return-to-play strategies
n
Approval and endorsement
of equipment and suppliers
n
Rehabilitation best
practices
n
Warning signs
7. MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS
Purpose:
n
To market different aspects of the programmes to
the market identified utilising the most appropriate media
Responsibilities:
n
Awareness of programme