Citation

Inglis PR, Doma K, Deakin GB. J. Hum. Kinet. 2019; 67: 101-110.

Affiliation

College of Healthcare Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Academy of Physical Education Poland, Publisher Walter de Gruyter)

DOI

10.2478/hukin-2018-0075

PMID

31523309

PMCID

PMC6714359

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of the environment, jersey color and ground conditions on injury rates in junior rugby-league players in a tropical environment. Injury, environment and ground condition data were collected during each game, over one season (n = 12 rounds). The study investigated three teams (n = 64): one under-16 team in striped jerseys and two under-14 teams in black and orange jerseys. The injury rates for the under-16 team (83.3/1000 hrs) were higher than for the under-14 teams in black (69.9/1000 hrs) and orange (59.9/1000 hrs) jerseys. In the under-16 team, a negative correlation (r = -0.66, p < 0.05) was found between players' injuries and heat index, while in the under-14 team in black jerseys, a positive correlation was observed (r = 0.90, p < 0.01), although in the under-14 team in orange, no significant correlation was found (r = 0.140, p > 0.05). In the under-14 team in black, a significant correlation (r = 0.80, p < 0.01) between players' injuries and the temperature was observed. However, no correlations were found with any other variables per group (p > 0.05) and injury rates were not different between the teams (p > 0.05). While ground conditions had no effect on injury rates, it appears that the heat acted as a protection against injury for teams with striped and orange jerseys. However, black jerseys may put players at an increased risk of injury during hot and humid day games.

Language: en

Keywords

garment color; ground conditions; heat; humidity