{"title":"Contact load is associated with both contact and non-contact injuries in rugby union.","authors":"Yusuke Iwasaki, Yuki Someya, Masashi Nagao, Masashi Aoyagi, Yuki Shiota, Yuji Takazawa","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2025.1672824","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Managing matches and training loads is crucial for injury prevention. Contact load is a defining feature of rugby union, and World Rugby has proposed its management as a key strategy for the prevention of injuries. In fact, increased contact load has been associated with a higher incidence of injuries. However, the specific relationship between contact load and the occurrence of both contact and non-contact injuries remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to clarify the association between contact load and the occurrence of contact and non-contact injuries in elite rugby union players.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Sixty-six elite male rugby union players (age: 26.5 ± 3.5 years) in Japan were monitored over three seasons. Contact load, an indicator of training load, was evaluated based on collision count and collision load, measured using a global positioning system device. For each player, cumulative contact loads were calculated using time windows of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. The association between contact load and injury incidence (contact and non-contact) was analyzed using generalized estimating equations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 193 injuries were recorded. Of these, 136 were contact injuries and 57 were non-contact injuries. The contact load was significantly associated with both types of injury. For contact injuries, the highest odds ratio for the collision count was observed on day 1 and gradually decreased toward day 7 (day 1: odds ratio, 2.10 [95% confidence interval: 1.67-2.64]; day 7: 1.31 [1.15-1.48]). The odds ratio for collision load also declined from days 1-7 (day 1: 3.27 [2.18-4.90]; day 7: 1.44 [1.17-1.78]). By contrast, non-contact injuries showed a different pattern. For collision count, the highest odds ratio was observed on day 2 and then gradually decreased toward day 4 (day 2: 1.38 [1.04-1.83]; day 4: 1.35 [1.06-1.72]). The odds ratio for collision load was also the highest on day 2 and decreased toward day 4 (day 2: 1.75 [1.16-2.65]; day 4: 1.56 [1.07-2.27]).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Contact load was associated with both contact and non-contact injuries in elite rugby union players.</p>","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"16 ","pages":"1672824"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12518334/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in Physiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2025.1672824","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PHYSIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Managing matches and training loads is crucial for injury prevention. Contact load is a defining feature of rugby union, and World Rugby has proposed its management as a key strategy for the prevention of injuries. In fact, increased contact load has been associated with a higher incidence of injuries. However, the specific relationship between contact load and the occurrence of both contact and non-contact injuries remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to clarify the association between contact load and the occurrence of contact and non-contact injuries in elite rugby union players.
Methods: Sixty-six elite male rugby union players (age: 26.5 ± 3.5 years) in Japan were monitored over three seasons. Contact load, an indicator of training load, was evaluated based on collision count and collision load, measured using a global positioning system device. For each player, cumulative contact loads were calculated using time windows of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. The association between contact load and injury incidence (contact and non-contact) was analyzed using generalized estimating equations.
Results: A total of 193 injuries were recorded. Of these, 136 were contact injuries and 57 were non-contact injuries. The contact load was significantly associated with both types of injury. For contact injuries, the highest odds ratio for the collision count was observed on day 1 and gradually decreased toward day 7 (day 1: odds ratio, 2.10 [95% confidence interval: 1.67-2.64]; day 7: 1.31 [1.15-1.48]). The odds ratio for collision load also declined from days 1-7 (day 1: 3.27 [2.18-4.90]; day 7: 1.44 [1.17-1.78]). By contrast, non-contact injuries showed a different pattern. For collision count, the highest odds ratio was observed on day 2 and then gradually decreased toward day 4 (day 2: 1.38 [1.04-1.83]; day 4: 1.35 [1.06-1.72]). The odds ratio for collision load was also the highest on day 2 and decreased toward day 4 (day 2: 1.75 [1.16-2.65]; day 4: 1.56 [1.07-2.27]).
Conclusion: Contact load was associated with both contact and non-contact injuries in elite rugby union players.
期刊介绍：
Frontiers in Physiology is a leading journal in its field, publishing rigorously peer-reviewed research on the physiology of living systems, from the subcellular and molecular domains to the intact organism, and its interaction with the environment. Field Chief Editor George E. Billman at the Ohio State University Columbus is supported by an outstanding Editorial Board of international researchers. This multidisciplinary open-access journal is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians and the public worldwide.
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