{
  "abstract": "Objectives Contact breast injury (CBI) and exercise-induced breast pain (EIBP) are common in adult female contact sports; however, incidence in adolescent players is unknown. The present study investigated the occurrence, mechanism and reporting behaviours of CBI and EIBP in under-18 international female rugby union.Methods A cross-sectional survey was distributed to players (n=110, 17.0±0.7 years) participating in the Women’s U18 Six Nations.Results Incidence of CBI and EIBP was 39% and 43%, respectively. Seventy-seven percent of players affected by CBI had experienced multiple incidents in the previous year. Activities associated with the highest severity of EIBP were running, jumping and tackling, with 27% reporting that breast pain inhibited their performance. Concerningly, 64% of players did not report CBI, and no injuries were reported to coaching/medical personnel. Notably, over half of players did not consciously adopt strategies to prevent CBI, which may be attributed to various bio-psycho-social mechanisms.Conclusion While there is a worryingly high incidence of CBI and EIBP in adolescent female international rugby players, reporting remains low, and there is a lack of uptake of support/protective strategies. Further research is warranted to investigate the effectiveness of female-specific protective equipment and educational programmes, aiming to improve breast health.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Rugby Knowledge Exchange, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK",
        "Institute for Applied Human Physiology, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Eloise Elizabeth Kirby"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Rugby Knowledge Exchange, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK",
        "Institute for Applied Human Physiology, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Melissa Elizabeth Annie Jones"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Rugby Knowledge Exchange, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Seren Lois Evans"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Rugby Knowledge Exchange, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK",
        "Institute for Psychology of Elite Performance, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Vicky M Gottwald"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Rugby Knowledge Exchange, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK",
        "Institute for Applied Human Physiology, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Julian Andrew Owen"
    }
  ],
  "title": "‘Don’t tell the coach’: contact breast injury and breast pain in under-18 international female rugby players",
  "uid": "d38b13eb-b47a-5a9c-a04d-ae23ce3759cf"
}