Movement Patterns and Muscle Damage During Simulated Rugby Sevens Matches in National Team Players

Pereira, LA, Nakamura, FY, Moraes, JE, Kitamura, K, Ramos, SP, and Loturco, I. Movement patterns and muscle damage during simulated rugby sevens matches in national team players. J Strength Cond Res 32(12): 3465–3474, 2018—The aim of this study was to analyze the match performance (i.e., distance covered in different intensities), signs of muscle damage (assessed by means of creatine kinase [CK] activity and rate of force development [RFD]), and neuromuscular fatigue (using linear sprint and vertical jump performances) after 3 single-day simulated matches performed by rugby sevens players from the Brazilian National team. Ten male rugby sevens players (25.2 ± 3.6 years; 88.7 ± 7.1 kg; 182.2 ± 6.3 cm) participated in this study. On the day before the matches, the athletes performed a 40-m sprint, a vertical jump assessment, and a maximal isometric force test. In the morning of the match day, blood samples were collected to analyze the CK activity. Afterward, 3 simulated rugby sevens' matches were performed with 2-hour intermission periods. The match performance (encompassing total distance and distance covered in different velocity ranges and body loads [BLs]) was obtained from global positioning system units. The statistical analysis was performed using a mixed model approach and the effect sizes (ESs) of the differences. The statistical significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05. Players were capable of maintaining the match performance when comparing the first and last...
Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Original Research Source Type: research