RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The rapid growth of women's rugby union has underscored the need for female-specific player welfare protocols, particularly regarding the risk of head injuries. Instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) play a vital role in gathering comprehensive data on head acceleration events (HAEs), including their frequency, magnitude, and spatial distribution during games and training. By doing so, iMGs offer valuable context for circumstances in women's matches that may increase player risk. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to contextualize HAEs in female community rugby players using instrumented mouthguards and video review. METHODS: This prospective, observational cohort study involved 332 female rugby players across 38 matches and 80 training sessions during the 2021/2022 seasons. Players were representative of four playing grades: U13 (N = 9), U15 (N = 111), U19 (N = 95) and Premier women (N = 115). HAEs were recorded using boil-and-bite iMGs, with a single-axis recording threshold of 5 g. The incidence and prevalence of HAEs was expressed by grade, years of experience, playing positions, and session types (match or training). The effect of playing grade and previous playing experience on HAE propensity during tackles and rucks was also examined. RESULTS: Throughout the study, 9151 iMG events over 5 g were recorded, with 80% verified for analysis. Overall, the incidence rate (IR) was highest for HAEs between 10 and 29 g, 12-18 times higher than the IR for > 30-g events. Premier grade players had the highest weekly HAE load (26.2 per player per week) and the highest prevalence of players (49%) exposed to events over 30 g. An inverse relationship was found between years of rugby experience and peak angular acceleration (PAA) in U13-U19 players (p = 0.002, 95% CI [47,177 rads/s2]), showing that more experienced school-age players had lower rotational acceleration during HAEs. However, propensity for HAEs in tackle events was highest in Premier players with > 9 years of experience compared with U13-U19 grade players with similar years of experience (RR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.06-1.37; p = 0.004). Ball carries consistently resulted in the highest propensity of events over 30 g, regardless of playing grade or experience. CONCLUSIONS: This research presents unique information regarding head accelerations that occur during women's community rugby matches and practices. The results have significant implications for recognising populations that are at the highest risk of experiencing high cumulative and acute head accelerations. The findings may assist in managing training loads and instructing skill execution in high-risk activities, particularly for younger players who are new to the sport. Consideration of playing grade, experience, and contact phases is crucial for understanding head acceleration exposure and injury risk in female rugby players. These insights can inform injury prevention strategies.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the cumulative head acceleration event (HAE) exposure in male rugby players from the Under-13 (U13) to senior club level over 4 weeks of matches and training during the 2021 community rugby season. METHODS: This prospective, observational cohort study involved 328 male rugby players. Players were representative of four playing grades: U13 (N = 60, age 12.5 ± 0.6 years), U15 (N = 100, age 14.8 ± 0.9 years), U19 (N = 78, age 16.9 ± 0.7 years) and Premier senior men (N = 97, age 22.5 ± 3.1 years). HAE exposure was tracked across 48 matches and 113 training sessions. HAEs were recorded using boil-and-bite instrumented mouthguards (iMGs). The study assessed the incidence and prevalence of HAEs by ages, playing positions, and session types (match or training). RESULTS: For all age grades, weekly match HAE incidence was highest at lower magnitudes (10-29 g). Proportionally, younger players experienced higher weekly incidence rates during training. The U19 players had 1.36 times the risk of high-magnitude (> 30 g) events during matches, while the U13 players had the lowest risk compared with all other grades. Tackles and rucks accounted for the largest HAE burden during matches, with forwards having 1.67 times the risk of > 30 g HAEs in rucks compared with backs. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides novel data on head accelerations during rugby matches and training. The findings have important implications for identifying populations at greatest risk of high cumulative and acute head acceleration. Findings may guide training load management and teaching of skill execution in high-risk activities, particularly for younger players who may be exposed to proportionally more contact during training and for older players during matches.