Reha Tahere, McNabb Colm, Netto Kevin, Davey Paul, Lavender Andrew P
Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia.
Curtin enAble Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia.
Brain Sci. 2021 Nov 12;11(11):1497. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11111497.
Rugby Union is a popular sport played by males and females worldwide, from junior to elite levels. The highly physical skill of tackling occurs every few seconds throughout a match and various injuries associated with tackling are relatively common. Of particular interest are head injuries that result in a concussion. Recently, repeated non-injurious head impacts in sport have attracted the attention of researchers interested in brain health. Therefore, this study assessed head movement during repeated rugby tackle drills among experienced Rugby Union players. Experienced male and female participants performed 15 1-on-1 tackles in a motion analysis laboratory to measure the head movements of the ball carrier and tackler during each tackle, using three-dimensional motion capture. The average peak acceleration of the head for ball carriers was 28.9 ± 24.08 g and 36.67 ± 28.91 g for the tacklers. This study found that the type of head impacts common while performing a tackle in Rugby Union are similar to those experienced by soccer players during heading, which has been found to alter brain function that lasts hours after the event. This has important implications for player health and suggests that mitigation strategies should be considered for Rugby Union.
英式橄榄球联盟是一项在全球范围内深受男女喜爱的运动，涵盖了从青少年到精英各个水平。在一场比赛中，每隔几秒就会出现具有高强度身体对抗性的擒抱动作，并且与擒抱相关的各种损伤相对较为常见。特别值得关注的是导致脑震荡的头部损伤。最近，体育运动中反复出现的无损伤性头部撞击引起了关注大脑健康的研究人员的注意。因此，本研究评估了经验丰富的英式橄榄球联盟球员在反复进行橄榄球擒抱训练时的头部运动情况。经验丰富的男性和女性参与者在运动分析实验室中进行了15次一对一擒抱，以使用三维动作捕捉技术测量每次擒抱过程中持球者和擒抱者的头部运动。持球者头部的平均峰值加速度为28.9±24.08g，擒抱者为36.67±28.91g。本研究发现，在英式橄榄球联盟比赛中进行擒抱时常见的头部撞击类型与足球运动员头球时所经历的类似，而足球运动员头球已被发现会改变大脑功能，且这种改变在事件发生后会持续数小时。这对球员健康具有重要意义，并表明英式橄榄球联盟应考虑采取缓解策略。
