Does strengthening the cervical spine musculature enhance neck strength and reduce sports-related concussions in rugby and football players? A systematic literature review

IF 1.4 Q3 REHABILITATION

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES Pub Date : 2025-09-04 DOI:10.1016/j.jbmt.2025.08.023

Donavella Alvacite Cardenas , Nick Preston

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives

The aim is to search for high-quality evidence to determine whether strengthening cervical spine musculature can reduce sports-related concussions and improve neck strength in football and rugby players.

Design

Systematic literature review.

Methods

We searched PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus databases from January 2002 to September 2022. We focused on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort or pre-post studies assessing cervical musculature strengthening (CMS) interventions in football and rugby players.

Results

The search returned 940 articles. After screening and critical appraisal, 10 studies involving 3453 participants were retained for the review; seven studies providing complete data were synthesised into the meta-analysis, and the remaining three were synthesised into a narrative format. Two studies answered the primary objective that strengthening the cervical spine musculature reduces the incidence of sports-related concussions in male rugby players by 45 %, with a risk ratio of 0.55 (95 % CI 0.33 to 0.92, P < 0.05). However, no studies provided evidence that strengthening the musculature of the cervical spine reduces sports-related concussions in football (soccer) or female rugby players.

Eight studies answered the secondary objective that CMS has a greater beneficial effect on neck strength, specifically in neck extension, for male rugby players, but the evidence is limited for football (soccer) and female rugby players.

Conclusion

The evidence in this systematic review suggests that the incorporation of CMS programs into rugby training may reduce concussion risk by almost half. However, further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of CMS in football and female rugby players.

Prospero

CRD4202236054.

查看原文本刊更多论文

加强颈椎肌肉组织是否可以增强颈部力量并减少橄榄球和足球运动员的运动相关脑震荡？系统的文献综述

目的寻找高质量的证据，以确定加强颈椎肌肉组织是否可以减少足球和橄榄球运动员的运动相关脑震荡并提高颈部力量。系统文献综述。方法检索2002年1月至2022年9月的PubMed、SPORTDiscus、Medline、CINAHL、Cochrane Library、Web of Science和Scopus数据库。我们的重点是随机对照试验（rct）和队列或前后研究，以评估足球和橄榄球运动员的颈椎肌肉组织强化（CMS）干预措施。结果检索得到940篇文章。经过筛选和严格评估，10项研究共3453名参与者被纳入评估；提供完整数据的7项研究被综合到元分析中，其余3项被综合到叙述格式中。两项研究回答了主要目标，即加强颈椎肌肉组织可使男性橄榄球运动员的运动相关脑震荡发生率降低45%，风险比为0.55 （95% CI 0.33至0.92,P < 0.05）。然而，没有研究提供证据表明，加强颈椎肌肉组织可以减少足球或女子橄榄球运动员的运动相关脑震荡。8项研究回答了第二个目标，即CMS对男性橄榄球运动员的颈部力量，特别是颈部伸展有更大的有益影响，但对足球和女性橄榄球运动员的证据有限。结论本系统综述的证据表明，将CMS项目纳入橄榄球训练可将脑震荡风险降低近一半。然而，需要进一步的研究来评估CMS在足球和女子橄榄球运动员中的有效性。

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来源期刊

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES REHABILITATION-

CiteScore

2.80

自引率

0.00%

发文量

133

审稿时长

321 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies brings you the latest therapeutic techniques and current professional debate. Publishing highly illustrated articles on a wide range of subjects this journal is immediately relevant to everyday clinical practice in private, community and primary health care settings. Techiques featured include: • Physical Therapy • Osteopathy • Chiropractic • Massage Therapy • Structural Integration • Feldenkrais • Yoga Therapy • Dance • Physiotherapy • Pilates • Alexander Technique • Shiatsu and Tuina