2013 Volume 10 Pages 1-9
Rugby players have high incidence of cervical pain or cervical injuries, and therefore might have impaired standing balance due to accumulated microtrauma in the cervical area. This study aimed to clarify whether past cervical problems influence the static standing balance in rugby players. The study included 44 rugby union players (20.7±1.0 years old) from one university club, who could participate in all competitions and/or training. The players were divided into two groups by cervical disorder for the past season. The first group consisted of players who had no cervical injury (no injury group: NI), and the second group consisted of players who had sustained a cervical injury within the past year (cervical injury group: CI). All participants were measured for center of foot pressure when standing on both legs, using a stable computerized force platform. Results showed that CI had greater postural sway in an anterior direction than NI because rugby players might have altered cervical joint position sense by accumulated microtrauma of cervical muscles, joints and nerves. However, it was not clear which mechanisms affected the static standing balance in detail. Further study must be undertaken to investigate how cervical disorder affects lack of postural control.
