Roe Gregory, Sawczuk Thomas, Starling Lindsay, Gilthorpe Mark S, Salmon Danielle, Falvey Éanna, Hendricks Sharief, Rasmussen Karen, Stokes Keith, Tooby James, Owen Cameron, Tucker Ross, Jones Ben
Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK.
World Rugby Research Unit, Dublin, Ireland.
J Sports Sci. 2025 May;43(10):933-942. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2025.2481355. Epub 2025 Mar 25.
This study aimed to quantify contact-events and associated head acceleration event (HAE) probabilities in semi-elite women's rugby union. Instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) were worn by players competing in the 2023 Farah Palmer Cup season (13 teams, 217 players) during 441 player-matches. Maximum peak linear acceleration (PLA) and peak angular acceleration (PAA) per-event were used as estimates of HAE (HAE), linked to video analysis-derived contact-events and analysed using mixed-effects regression. Back-rows had the highest number of contact-events per full-match (44.1 [41.2 to 47.1]). No differences were apparent between front-five and centres, or between half-backs and outside-backs. The probability of higher HAE occurring was greatest in ball-carries, followed by tackles, defensive rucks and attacking rucks. Probability profiles were similar between positions but the difference in contact-events for each position influenced HAE exposure. Overall, most HAE were relatively low. For example, the probability of a back-row experiencing a PLA HAE ≥25 was 0.045 (0.037-0.054) for ball carries (1 in every 22 carries), translating to 1 in every 2.3 full games. This study presents the first in-depth analysis of contact-events and associated HAE in semi-elite women's rugby union. The HAE profiles during contact-events can help inform both policy and research into injury mitigation strategies.
本研究旨在量化半职业女子英式橄榄球联盟中的接触事件及相关头部加速事件（HAE）的概率。在2023年法拉·帕尔默杯赛季（13支球队，217名球员）的441场球员比赛中，参赛球员佩戴了装有传感器的护齿（iMG）。每场事件的最大峰值线性加速度（PLA）和峰值角加速度（PAA）被用作HAE的估计值，与视频分析得出的接触事件相关联，并使用混合效应回归进行分析。后排球员在每场完整比赛中的接触事件数量最多（44.1 [41.2至47.1]）。前排球员和中锋之间，以及半场球员和边后卫之间没有明显差异。较高HAE发生的概率在持球时最高，其次是擒抱、防守ruck和进攻ruck。不同位置的概率分布相似，但每个位置接触事件的差异影响了HAE暴露情况。总体而言，大多数HAE相对较低。例如，后排球员在持球时经历PLA HAE≥25的概率为0.045（0.037 - 0.054）（每22次持球中有1次），相当于每2.3场完整比赛中有1次。本研究首次对半职业女子英式橄榄球联盟中的接触事件及相关HAE进行了深入分析。接触事件期间的HAE概况有助于为减少伤害策略的政策制定和研究提供信息。
