• English
    • Welsh
  • English 
    • English
    • Welsh
  • Login
Search DSpace:
  • Home
  • Research at Cardiff Met
  • Library Services
  • Contact Us
View item 
  • DSpace home
  • Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences
  • Research Degrees (Sport and Health Sciences)
  • Research Degrees (Sport)
  • View item
  • DSpace home
  • Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences
  • Research Degrees (Sport and Health Sciences)
  • Research Degrees (Sport)
  • View item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Monitoring recovery from muscle damage in Rugby Union

Thumbnail
View/open
Sam Dodge MPhil.pdf (1.563Mb)
Author
Dodge, Sam
Date
2016
Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Acute and long-term decreases in athletic performance as a result of muscle damage from participating in rugby union, are well documented. To date, research designed to measure recovery from muscle damage using jump performance has adopted a wide range of methodologies, often in experimental settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate performance decrements of rugby union players in a variety of jump activities after experiencing muscle damage in an experimental (study 1) and applied (study 2) environment. METHODS In both studies subjects recorded a baseline squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), drop jump from 30cm (DJ) and submaximal hop (SH) during which the force (F), power (P), velocity (V), ground contact time (tc) and flight time (tf) were measured alongside baseline creatine kinase (CK) levels. Peak force, peak power output, leg stiffness, reactive strength index (RSI), peak velocity and jump height were recorded for each of the given jumps. All jumps were then retested 4min, 1d, 2d, 3d and 7d post a stimulus designed to cause muscle damage with CK recorded at all intervals excluding the 4min interval. In study one subjects completed five sets of ten repetitions of the lowering portion of a back squat at 95% of their back squat 1- RM with a five second eccentric contraction. In study two subjects participated in a full competitive rugby union match. In both studies jump variables were analysed using separate single-factor repeated-measures analyses of variance and correlation analysis between CK and jump variables was carried out using a Pearson’s correlation. The effect size of the change between intervals was also recorded for each variable measured. RESULTS In study one, a very large (ES = 3.53) increase in CK was recorded from 256+158 U/I to 813.8+577 U/I, which although not significant (p>0.05), remained elevated until returning to below baseline levels at 7d post intervention. All jump activities experienced significant decreases in performance (p<0.05) across various intervals with DJ RSI displaying the highest correlation with changes in CK over the seven-day period (r=-.61, p<0.01). In study two a very large, but non-significant (p>0.05, ES = 1.93) peak from baseline CK (257.9+91.2 U/I) was recorded at 24hrs post-competition (434+207.8 U/I), which remained elevated before returning to below baseline levels 7d post competition. No jump activities experienced significant decreases in performance. CONCLUSION The results suggest that while jump activities can be used to identify the state of recovery from muscle damage, particularly the RSI of a 30cm DJ, this is dependent on the stimulus used to instigate muscle damage. It can also be concluded that results obtained from an experimental setting may not be applicable to an applied ‘real world’ environment. Strength and conditioning practitioners therefore must assess whether or not the chosen jump method is suitable to the mechanism of muscle damage experienced by their athletes before implementing a monitoring programme using athletic performance measures.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10369/7919
Description
MPhil Thesis
Collections
  • Research Degrees (Sport) [52]

Related items

Showing items related by title, author, subject and abstract.

  • Thumbnail

    The effects of varied cold water immersion protocols on recovery and repeated performance measures in male rugby players 

    George, Daniel (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2015)
    The purpose of this investigation was to observe the effect two different length cold water immersion protocols had upon performance variables and recovery from exercise induced muscle damage. The study aimed to add ...
  • Thumbnail

    Water immersion as an aid to recovery after intermittent shuttle running exercise 

    Milner, Andrew (2012-09)
    Post-exercise water immersion (WI) treatments are typically employed in sport with the expectation that this intervention can help minimise soreness and promote optimal recovery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ...
  • Thumbnail

    THE EFFECT OF INTERVAL DURATION DURING INTERMITTENT EXERCISE ON SUBSEQUENT SPRINT PERFORMANCE 

    Perkins, Dean (University of Wales Institute Cardiff, 2012)
    Different interval durations during acute intermittent exercise can affect the metabolic status within the working muscles. This study compared the effects of the interval duration during intermittent exercise on a subsequent ...

Browse

DSpace at Cardiff MetCommunities & CollectionsBy issue dateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis collectionBy issue dateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

DSpace software copyright © 2002-2015  DuraSpace
Contact us | Send feedback | Administrator