{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T08:11:25Z","timestamp":1790323885311,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785974400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Rugby Football Union"},{"name":"PREM Rugby"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Br J Sports Med"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To describe the incidence, severity, burden and risk factors of training-related concussion injuries in elite men\u2019s Rugby Union.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Training-related concussions recorded as part of the Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance Project were examined between the 2016\/2017 and 2023\/2024 seasons. Incidence rates (per 1000\u2009hours) were calculated with 95% CIs. Poisson regression and incidence rate ratios described season-to-season changes in concussion incidence. A generalised linear mixed model assessed the influence of time in season, match minutes played in the previous 28 days, dominant training type and previous concussion as fixed effects, accounting for weekly training exposure. Random intercepts included player and team.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The incidence of concussions in training was 0.23 per 1000\u2009hours (95%\u2009CI 0.22 to 0.29). The mean severity (days absent) of concussions was 18 days (95%\u2009CI 15 to 21). The burden of training concussions was 4.16\u2009days absent per 1000\u2009hours (95%\u2009CI 3.57 to 4.85). The tackle (46%) and accidental collisions (26%) were the most common inciting events. The incidence of training-related concussions was significantly higher in the 2021\/2022, 2022\/2023 and 2023\/2024 seasons compared with the 2016\/2017 season. Preseason (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.80 (95% CI 1.24 to 2.60), p=0.01) and full-contact training (IRR 2.20 (95% CI 1.17 to 4.12), p=0.01) were associated with a higher risk of concussion compared with the final 3 months of the season and non-contact training.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Full-contact training and the preseason period are associated with an increased risk of training-related concussion. Accordingly, full-contact and preseason training should be strategically planned to minimise risk.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2026-111653","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T17:20:25Z","timestamp":1786036825000},"page":"1394-1400","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Training-related concussions in men\u2019s English Premiership Rugby Union: an eight-season prospective cohort study of 153 243 player-weeks"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"60","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0841-7009","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Samuel Joseph","family":"Hudson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Health and Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport, University of Bath, Bath, UK"},{"name":"UK Collaborating Centre on Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport, University of Bath, Bath, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1460-0085","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sean","family":"Williams","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Health and Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport, University of Bath, Bath, UK"},{"name":"UK Collaborating Centre on Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport, University of Bath, Bath, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lindsay","family":"Starling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"World Rugby, County Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stephen","family":"West","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Health and Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport, University of Bath, Bath, UK"},{"name":"UK Collaborating Centre on Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport, University of Bath, Bath, UK"},{"name":"University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matt","family":"Cross","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Premiership Rugby, London, UK"},{"name":"Leeds Beckett University Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lewis","family":"Henderson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rugby Football Union, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4274-6236","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ben","family":"Jones","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Premiership Rugby, London, UK"},{"name":"Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Leeds Beckett University\u2014Headingley Campus, Leeds, UK"},{"name":"Division of Physiological Sciences, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa"},{"name":"School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia"},{"name":"Rugby Football League, Manchester, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3250-2713","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simon","family":"Kemp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rugby Football Union, London, UK"},{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Keith","family":"Stokes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Health and Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport, University of Bath, Bath, UK"},{"name":"UK Collaborating Centre on Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport, University of Bath, Bath, UK"},{"name":"Rugby Football Union, London, 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