PURPOSE: Injuries result from complex interactions between a variety of internal and external risk factors. Due to the complex-systems nature of injuries it is not possible to place responsibility for injury risk management solely within a single domain of professional practice. Instead, an interdisciplinary collaboration between technical/tactical coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, team doctors, physical therapists and sport scientists is more likely to have a meaningful impact on injury risk. The purpose of this study is to describe the development and application of a multidisciplinary model for reducing team injury risk in professional rugby union. METHODS: Epidemiological injury data was collected from a team of professional rugby union players over the course of 5 consecutive season. Following each season, a multidisciplinary audit was conducted to identify areas where risk mitigation strategies could be applied within the team environment. These strategies took the form of technical/tactical, strength and conditioning, player monitoring medical and therapeutic interventions that were all applied concurrently (Figure 1). The effectiveness of this program was assessed against the total team injury burden per season, as well as the burden from contact and non-contact injuries. 95% confidence intervals were calculated using standard equations, and values were considered significantly different if the 95% confidence intervals did not overlap. RESULTS: Overall team injury burden decreased significantly (9, 95%CI 5 to 13 %) from 2012 to 2016. Non-contact injuries were also significantly reduced (39, 95%CI 34 to 44 %), while contact injury burden was increased to a lesser degree (21, 95%CI 15 to 27 %) during the same period. Specific examples of multidisciplinary interventions are provided. CONCLUSIONS: The range of skills required to effectively manage injury risk in professional collision sport crosses disciplinary boundaries. The evidence presented here points to the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary approach to reducing injury risk. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The multidisciplinary model of injury risk management will encourage increased collaboration across professional disciplines within sport. This model will likely be applicable across a range of team and individual sports.
ORCID: 
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)