Somatoscopic characteristics of rugby players at the initial training stage

Abstract

Introduction. Rugby is a team sport in which the game’s specificity is realised through multiple combinations of static and dynamic contact interaction between athletes, motor activity and high-intensity movement of players on the field. At the current stage of rugby’s development, which is characterised by growing competition in the international and domestic Ukrainian sports arena and increasing requirements for the level of athlete’s skills, the task of qualitative training of rugby players in children’s and youth sports schools at all stages of long-term improvement is becoming more important. The stage of training is of particular importance in rugby training, which is the foundation for increasing the body’s functional reserves, improving physical preparedness and expanding the adaptive capabilities of young athletes. According to numerous studies, the problems of functional disorders of the musculoskeletal system of young athletes have not escaped the practice of sports.

The purpose of the study is to determine the somotoscopic features of rugby players at the stage of initial training.

Research methods:theoretical analysis and synthesis of literary sources; pedagogical observation, To determine the types of posture, the programme «Torso», pedagogical experiment, and methods of mathematical statistics were used. The research was conducted in compliance with the requirements of the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki “ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects”.

The results. According to the results of videometry (confirmed by an orthopaedic specialist), it was found that 46.66% of the 9-10 year old rugby players have normal posture, and 53.34% have functional disorders of the musculoskeletal system. The mean values and standard deviations of goniometric indicators for the studied rugby players aged 9-10 with different types of posture were determined. It was defined that the majority of young rugby

players with all types of posture (83,3%) have similar deviations from the norm in the value of angle α1 towards

its increase. This indicates a less symmetrical position of the head relative to the vertical axis of the body and is an

important sign of abnormal posture. In addition, many children (83.3%) have a deviation of the angle α2 towards its

sharpening, as the distance between the most protruding part of the frontal bone and the chin protrusion is less than

in average individuals, which also indicates a certain deviation in the posture structure. The angle α3 in athletes with

normal posture differs insignificantly from the norm, and in athletes with impaired posture these deviations are more significant in the direction of increasing lordosis. An average model of the state of the biogeometric posture profile of young rugby players aged 9-10 with different types of posture was developed, using additionally calculated z-scores. These estimates describe the position of the output data in terms of their distance from the mean, measured in standard deviation units.

Conclusions. It was found that young athletes with normal posture have minimal deviations from the norm. Rugby players with a stooped back are characterised by the maximum forward and upward tilt of the head. Athletes with a scoliotic posture had a less distinctive exacerbation of the angle α2, compared to children with normal

posture, but it was better than in the group with a stooped back.