Prioritise safety, optimise success! Return to rugby postpartum.

Pregnancy and childbirth involve substantial physical, physiological and psychological changes. As such, postpartum rugby players should be supported and appropriately prepared to return to the demands of rugby alongside the additional demands of motherhood. This review aims to discuss specific perinatal considerations that inform a rugby player's readiness to return-to-sport postpartum and present an approach to rehabilitation. Before engaging in full rugby training and matchplay, postpartum players should have progressed through the initial phases of rehabilitation and graded sports-specific training to prepare them for the loads they will be exposed to. Additional rehabilitation considerations include minimising deconditioning during pregnancy; medical concerns; the abdominal wall; the pelvic floor; perinatal breast changes, breastfeeding and risk of contact breast injury; body mass; nutritional requirements; hormonal considerations; athlete identity and psychological considerations; joining team training; return to contact and tackle training; evaluating player load tolerance and future research, policy and surveillance needs. A whole-systems, biopsychosocial approach following an evidence informed return-to-sport framework is recommended when rehabilitating postpartum rugby players. Health and exercise professionals are encouraged to use the perinatal-specific recommendations in this review to guide the development of postpartum rehabilitation protocols and resources.

Can thoraco-abdominal organ boundaries be accurately determined from X-ray and anthropometric surface scans? Implications for body armour system coverage and design.

To optimise soldier protection within body armour systems, knowledge of the boundaries of essential thoraco-abdominal organs is necessary to inform coverage requirements. However, existing methods of organ boundary identification are costly and time consuming, limiting widespread adoption for use on soldier populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel method of using 3D organ models to identify essential organ boundaries from low dose planar X-rays and 3D external surface scans of the human torso. The results revealed that, while possible to reconstruct 3D organs using template 3D organ models placed over X-ray images, the boundary data (relating to the size and position of each organ) obtained from the reconstructed organs differed significantly from MRI organ data. The magnitude of difference varied between organs. The most accurate anatomical boundaries were the left, right, and inferior boundaries of the heart, and lateral boundaries for the liver and spleen. Visual inspection of the data demonstrated that 11 of 18 organ models were successfully integrated within the 3D space of the participant's surface scan. These results suggest that, if this method is further refined and evaluated, it has potential to be used as a tool for estimating body armour coverage requirements.

Do thoracoabdominal organ boundaries differ between males and females? Implications for body armour coverage and design.

To optimise fit and protection of body armour systems, knowledge of the location of thoracoabdominal organ boundaries is required. The aims of this study were (i) determine the effect of sex on essential and desirable thoracoabdominal organ boundaries, and (ii) compare essential thoracoabdominal organ boundaries with small and large hard ballistic plate sizes from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and determine if coverage requirements differ between sexes. 33 males and 33 females underwent supine magnetic resonance imaging of their thoracoabdominal organs. Male participants on average displayed more laterally and inferiorly positioned essential and desirable organ boundaries than females. Based on NIJ plate sizes, insufficient coverage of essential organs was identified for male and female participants. A greater range of body armour sizes and designs that better cater to the diverse anatomy of soldier populations is warranted, but must be considered in the context of ergonomic and performance implications.

Effect of aging on breast skin thickness and elasticity: implications for breast support.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The skin overlying a woman's breast acts as an anatomical support structure to the breast. Although aging is known to affect the thickness and elasticity of human skin, limited research has examined age-related changes to skin covering the breast or related these changes to breast support requirements. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of age on female breast skin thickness and elasticity. METHODS: The left breast of 339 women (18-84 years), classified into four age groups (18-24 years, 25-44 years, 45-64 years, and 65 + years), was divided into four quadrants. Skin thickness (dermal layer; 20 MHz ultrasound probe) and skin elasticity (Cutometer® MPA 580) were measured for each breast quadrant and then compared to determine whether there was any significant (P < 0.05) effect of aging on breast skin. RESULTS: Breast skin thickness significantly decreased from 45 years of age onwards. A significant decline in breast skin elasticity was evident from the mid 20's. CONCLUSION: Aging is associated with a significant decline in breast skin thickness and elasticity, which is likely to reduce anatomical breast support. Women might therefore benefit from increased external breast support (i.e. a more supportive bra) with increasing age.