Cervical Range of Motion, Cervical and Shoulder Strength in Senior versus Age-grade Rugby Union International Front-Row Forwards
Objectives: To provide normative values for cervical range of motion (CROM), isometric cervical and shoulder strength for; International Senior professional, and International Age-grade Rugby Union front-row forwards. Design: Cross-sectional population study Setting: All international level front-row players within a Rugby Union Tier 1 Nation. Participants: Nineteen Senior and 21 Age-grade front-row forwards underwent CROM, cervical and shoulder strength testing. Main outcome measures: CROM was measured using the CROM device and the Gatherer System was used to measure multi-directional isometric cervical and shoulder strength. Results: The Age-grade players had significantly lower; cervical strength (26 - 57% deficits), cervical flexion to extension strength ratios (0.5 vs. 0.6), and shoulder strength (2 – 36% deficits) than the Senior players. However, there were no differences between front-row positions within each age group. Additionally, there were no differences between age groups or front-row positions in the CROM measurements. Conclusions: Senior Rugby Union front-row forwards have greater cervical and shoulder strength than Age-grade players, with the biggest differences being in cervical strength, highlighting the need for position specific normative values. Importantly, Age-grade players should be evaluated to ensure they have developed sufficient cervical strength prior to entering professional level Rugby Union.
History
Published in
Physical Therapy in SportPublisher
ElsevierVersion
AM (Accepted Manuscript)Citation
Davies, M., Moore, I.S., Moran, P., Mathema, P. and Ranson, C.A. (2015) 'Cervical range of motion, cervical and shoulder strength in senior versus age-grade Rugby Union international front-row forwards', Physical Therapy in Sport, 19, pp. 36-42Print ISSN
1466-853XCardiff Met Affiliation
- Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences
Cardiff Met Authors
Izzy Moore Isabel MooreCardiff Met Research Centre/Group
- Applied Injury Science