AUTHOR=Naughton Mitchell , McLean Scott , Scott Tannath J. , Weaving Dan , Solomon Colin TITLE=Quantifying Fatigue in the Rugby Codes: The Interplay Between Collision Characteristics and Neuromuscular Performance, Biochemical Measures, and Self-Reported Assessments of Fatigue JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.711634 DOI=10.3389/fphys.2021.711634 ISSN=1664-042X ABSTRACT=
Locomotor and collision actions that rugby players complete during match-play often lead to substantial fatigue, and in turn, delays in recovery. The methods used to quantify post-match fatigue and recovery can be categorised as subjective and objective, with match-related collision characteristics thought to have a primary role in modulating these recovery measures. The aim of this review was to (1) evaluate how post-match recovery has been quantified in the rugby football codes (i.e., rugby league, rugby union, and rugby sevens), (2) to explore the time-course of commonly used measures of fatigue post-match, and (3) to investigate the relationships between game-related collisions and fatigue metrics. The available evidence suggests that upper-, and lower-body neuromuscular performance are negatively affected, and biomarkers of muscular damage and inflammation increase in the hours and days following match-play, with the largest differences being at 12–36 h post-match. The magnitude of such responses varies within and between neuromuscular performance (Δ ≤ 36%,