Evaluating the relationship between neurological function, neuromuscular fatigue, and subjective performance measures in professional rugby union players.

ABSTRACT

Managing the health and wellbeing of full-time professional athletes is a multifaceted task. In elite high-performance environments, medical staff and strength training coaches attempt to identify improved methods to monitor player health. Monitoring player health could indicate potential injury risk and assist in adjustments to training and workload management. Measuring fatigue is a notable component of monitoring player readiness before and after training sessions, and after competitive fixtures. In the present study, a novel method of gathering non-invasive player data was investigated by utilizing the Omegawave (OW) to monitor direct current (DC) potential brainwave activity. This method allowed for non-invasive data gathering to assess recovery, player readiness and indicators of workload that may affect optimal performance. DC potential is based on recording low electrical frequencies (>0.5 Hz) that is derived from (1) Stabilization point of DC potential (mV), (2) Stabilization time (1.0-7.0) and (3) Curve shape (1.0-7.0). These measures evaluate the athlete's internal stress, readiness to perform, and neurological function through DC potential brain wave activity and heart rate variability (HRV) assessments. The primary aim of this case series was to compare the efficacy of objective DC potential brainwave activity measurements (neurological function) with neuromuscular fatigue data using reactive strength index modified (RSImod) and profile of mood states (POMS) questionnaires to assess a player's state of readiness to train. The participants in this study were eleven male senior professional rugby union players with a mean stature (±SD) of 185.2 ± 8.6 cm, mass of 101.1 ± 12.9 kg, and age of 27.1 ± 2.1 years. All players were tested 3 days per week over a 6-week mid-season period. Results from this case study suggest that DC potentials could be used as an objective measure to indicate player readiness and managing individual player workload. The final analyses identified a weak negative correlation (r = -0.17) between the RSImod data and the DC potential data was observed. DC potential brainwave activity data could be used in conjunction with subjective measures such as POMS, RSImod and reported injury status to adjust player daily activity.