ArticleBritish journal of sports medicine2003
Evaluation of muscle damage after a rugby match with special reference to tackle plays.
Article in British journal of sports medicine, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Quantifying Collision Frequency and Intensity in Rugby Union and Rugby Sevens: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Training Load and Fatigue Marker Associations with Injury and Illness: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2017Pooled it
- Tart cherry supplementation causes differential regulation of skeletal muscle proteome after eccentric exercise.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Trial
- Effects of a Taekwondo-Specific High-Intensity Interval Training Protocol on the Biomarkers of Cardiovascular and Biochemical Recovery in Collegiate Athletes.International journal of medical sciences · 2025Trial
- Garlic supplementation attenuates cycling exercise-induced oxidative inflammation but fails to improve time trial performance in healthy adults.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2023Trial
- The addition of β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate (HMB) to creatine monohydrate supplementation does not improve anthropometric and performance maintenance across a collegiate rugby season.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Effectiveness of post-match recovery strategies in rugby players.British journal of sports medicine · 2006Trial
- Beyond the Hit: Muscle and Vascular Tissue Responses to Contact Exposure in Collision Sports-A Narrative Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Review
- Creatine kinase and neuromuscular fatigue responses following differing spells of simulated cricket fast bowling.PloS one · 2025Article
- The relationship between training and competition load characteristics of female boxers-a case study based on collegiate boxers.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Contact load is associated with both contact and non-contact injuries in rugby union.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Disentangling the dynamic interplay between muscle damage and energetics in male boxers during a short training block.Biology of sport · 2024Article
- Characteristics of potential concussive events in elite hurling: a video-analysis study.Irish journal of medical science · 2023Article
- Article
- The 50 Most Cited Papers on Rugby since 2000 Reveal a Focus Primarily on Strength and Conditioning in Elite Male Players.Journal of sports medicine (Hindawi Publishing Corporation) · 2023Review
- Acute Supplementation with Cannabidiol Does Not Attenuate Inflammation or Improve Measures of Performance following Strenuous Exercise.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Evaluating the Effects of Increased Protein Intake on Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy and Power Adaptations with Concurrent Training: A Narrative Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Review
- Seasonal Training Load Monitoring Among Elite Level Soccer Players: Perceived Exertion and Creatine Kinase Variations Between Microcycles.Journal of human kinetics · 2022Article
- Epidemiology of Shoulder Injuries in Schoolboy Rugby Union in Ireland.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate blood indices of muscle damage after a competitive rugby match.
methodsFifteen elite amateur rugby players volunteered to participate (mean (SE) age 26.6 (0.7) years, height 179.8 (1.0) cm, weight 87.4 (2.2) kg, and VO2MAX 58.5 (1.2) ml/kg/min). The study was conducted after two competitive matches during the 1999-2000 season. Plasma concentrations of lactate, potassium (K+), sodium (Na+), and myoglobin, and the activity of creatine kinase were measured before and after the matches. In addition, the number of tackles by and on each subject and the average duration of the work and rest periods were analysed using video recordings of the matches.
resultsMyoglobin concentration and creatine kinase activity showed appreciable transient increases after the match. Peak values for myoglobin concentration (980 (166) microg/l) and creatine kinase activity (1081 (159) U/l) were observed 45 minutes and 24 hours after the match respectively. Positive and significant correlations were observed between the number of tackles and both peak myoglobin concentration (r=0.85, p<0.01; n=14) and peak creatine kinase activity (r=0.92, p<0.01; n=14). Plasma lactate and K+ concentrations also showed appreciable increases after the match, whereas plasma Na+ concentration showed a gradual decrease. The mean duration of the work and rest periods were 21.5 (2.2) and 24.3 (3.1) seconds respectively.
conclusionsThe rugby matches resulted in serious structural damage to the muscles, the extent of which was highly dependent on the number of tackles.
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