Abstract
Rugby is a demanding contact sport. In light of research, poor balance, reduced jumping ability, muscle strength, and incorrect landing patterns might contribute to the increased risk of injury in athletes. Investigating the relationship between tests assessing these abilities might not only allow for the skillful programming of preventive training but also helps in assessing the risk of injury to athletes. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dynamic balance, vertical and horizontal jumps, and jump-landings movement patterns. Thirty-one healthy amateur adolescent rugby players (age: 14.3 ± 1.6 years, height 171.4 ± 9.7 cm, body mass 80 ± 26 kg) participated in the study. Data were collected by the Y-balance Test (YBT), Counter Movement Jump (CMJ), Single Leg Hop for Distance (SLHD), and Landing Error Score System (LESS). Significant positive correlations were found between SLHD both legs (SLHDb) and YBT Composite both legs (COMb) (r = 0.51, p = 0.0037) and between SLHDb and CMJ (r = 0.72, p < 0.0001). A relationship was also observed between the CMJ and YBT COMb test (r = 0.51, p = 0.006). Moderate positive correlations were found between the dominant legs in SLHD and the posterolateral (r = 0.40, p = 0.027), posteromedial (r = 0.43, p = 0.014), and composite (r = 0.48, p = 0.006) directions of the YBT. These results indicate that variables that are dependent on each other can support in the assessment of injury-risk and in enhancing sports performance of young athletes.
Highlights
There was no significant difference between the Y-Balance Test (YBT) and single leg hop for distance (SLHD) results for the dominant leg and non-dominant leg test (p > 0.05), among adolescent amateur rugby players
We examined the relationship between dynamic balance, errors in the landing pattern, and jump abilities during the countermovement jump and the horizontal single-leg jump among young rugby players
A major finding was that the dynamic balance (YBT Composite) was significantly correlated with the power of the lower limbs, as measured by the Counter Movement Jump (CMJ) (r = 0.48) and SLHD (r = 0.51) tests
Summary
Rugby union is a demanding team sport in which players must undoubtedly have adequate physical attributes. Players perform many activities such as acceleration, jumping and landing, changing the direction of running, and maintaining body balance in various planes [1,2,3]. Rugby players should have the qualities of strength, power, acceleration, and speed, as well as the appropriate stability and balance [4]. Limitation of balance and strength in the lower limbs are described as significant internal risk factors for injury among adolescents [6,7]. It is important to test these factors in athletes and to investigate the relationship between them.
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