Objectives

To describe and compare the incidence and propensity of head acceleration events (HAEs) using instrumented mouthguards (iMG) by playing position in a season of English elite-level men’s and women’s rugby union matches.

Methods

iMG data were collected for 255 men and 133 women from 1,865 and 807 player-matches, respectively, and synchronised to video-coded match footage. Head peak resultant linear acceleration (PLA) and peak resultant angular acceleration (PAA) were extracted from each HAE. Mean incidence and propensity values were calculated across different recording thresholds for forwards and backs in addition to positional groups (front row, second row, back row, half backs, centres, back three) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) estimated. Significance was determined based on 95% CI not overlapping across recording thresholds.

Results

For both men and women, HAE incidence was twice as high for forwards than backs across the majority of recording thresholds. HAE incidence and propensity were significantly lower in the women’s game compared to the men’s game. Back-row and front-row players had the highest incidence across all HAE thresholds for men’s forwards, while women’s forward positional groups and men’s and women’s back positional groups were similar. Tackles and carries exhibited a greater propensity to result in HAE for forward positional groups and the back three in the men’s game, and back row in the women’s game.

Conclusion

These data offer valuable benchmark and comparative data for future research, HAE mitigation strategies, and management of HAE exposure in elite rugby players. Positional-specific differences in HAE incidence and propensity should be considered in future mitigation strategies.

中文翻译：

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一个赛季的男子和女子英国精英俱乐部橄榄球联盟比赛中头部加速事件的发生率和倾向

 目标

描述和比较在英国精英级男子和女子橄榄球联盟比赛的一个赛季中使用仪器护齿套 (iMG) 时的头部加速事件 (HAE) 的发生率和倾向。

 方法

IMG 数据分别从 1,865 场和 807 场球员比赛中收集了 255 名男性和 133 名女性，并与视频编码的比赛录像同步。从每个 HAE 中提取头部峰值合成线性加速度 (PLA) 和峰值合成角加速度 (PAA)。除了位置组（前排、第二排、后排、半后卫、中卫、后三人）之外，还计算了前锋和后卫不同记录阈值的平均发生率和倾向值，并估计了 95% 置信区间 (CI)。显着性是根据不与记录阈值重叠的 95% CI 确定的。

 结果

对于男性和女性来说，在大多数记录阈值中，前锋的 HAE 发生率是后卫的两倍。与男子比赛相比，女子比赛中 HAE 的发生率和倾向明显较低。在男子前锋的所有 HAE 阈值中，后排和前排球员的发生率最高，而女子前锋位置组以及男女后位置组相似。对于男子比赛中的前锋组和后排三人组以及女子比赛中的后排组来说，铲球和冲球表现出更大的导致 HAE 的倾向。

 结论

这些数据为未来研究、HAE 缓解策略以及精英橄榄球运动员 HAE 暴露管理提供了宝贵的基准和比较数据。在未来的缓解策略中应考虑 HAE 发生率和倾向的特定位置差异。