Skill qualities as risk factors for contact injury in professional rugby league players
Article
Article Title | Skill qualities as risk factors for contact injury in professional rugby league players |
---|---|
ERA Journal ID | 9782 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Gabbett, Tim J. (Author), Ullah, Shahid (Author), Jenkins, David (Author) and Abernethy, Bruce (Author) |
Journal Title | Journal of Sports Sciences |
Journal Citation | 30 (13), pp. 1421-1427 |
Number of Pages | 7 |
Year | 2012 |
Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
ISSN | 0264-0414 |
1466-447X | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2012.710760 |
Web Address (URL) | http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02640414.2012.710760?needAccess=true |
Abstract | We investigated the relationship between skill qualities and contact injury risk in professional rugby league players. Sixty-six professional rugby league players aged 23 ± 4 years (mean ± s) participated in this three-year prospective study. Players underwent assessments of tackling proficiency, dual-task draw-and-pass proficiency, reactive agility, pattern recall, and pattern prediction. The frailty model was applied to calculate the adjusted risk ratios of injury. When the players' age and playing position were adjusted in the frailty model, the risk ratios showed that reactive agility was a predictor for the risk of injury. Players with reactive agility decision times of >80 ms had a lower incidence (relative risk = 0.68, 95% CI 0.47-0.98, P = 0.04) of injuries than players with reactive agility decision times of ≤80 ms. Although there was no relationship between injury and the majority of skill qualities (P = 0.47-0.93), players with poor reactive agility performances (specifically longer decision times) had a lower risk of injury, suggesting that poor perceptual skill is protective against contact injuries in professional rugby league players. These players might inadvertently avoid the heavy collisions that result in injury, or at best result in partial contact that does not result in exposure to the full force of a tackle. |
Keywords | collision sport; injury prevention; motor skill; skill attributes; tackling |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 420799. Sports science and exercise not elsewhere classified |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Byline Affiliations | Australian Catholic University |
Flinders University | |
University of Queensland | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q43y6/skill-qualities-as-risk-factors-for-contact-injury-in-professional-rugby-league-players
1324
total views9
total downloads5
views this month0
downloads this month