Correlations Between Shoulder and Hip Joints in Professional Male Rugby Players and Their Impact on Body Balance

Abstract

Introduction: The game of rugby is becoming more and more popular, despite the fact that it is a collision sport in which skill plays a large role. In the training process, great importance is placed on the development of general physical fitness, in particular, on strength, power and muscular endurance.Aim: The aim of this study is to analyse the co-organisation between range of motion, body balance, power and speed of the kick and throw in men practicing rugby.Material and methods: The study involved 19 players training rugby on the Extraleague team of MKS Ogniwo Sopot, with an average age of 27.325.49. The Inbody 270 body composition analyser, the EPSR1 mat measuring the distribution of foot pressure on the ground, the WiVA sensor for measuring the range of motion and the Tendo Unit for measuring the explosive force were used to carry out testing.Results: The results indicate that people with a higher level of balance perform a throw with more power and speed. It was also shown that the range of motion in the upper limb is directly proportional to the range of motion in the hip joint.Conclusions: In the sport of rugby, flexion and extension movements of both the shoulder and hip joints are performed alternately. Based on the results, it can be concluded that in rugby athletes, balance training deserves special attention, which may translate into greater speed and power of the throw during a game. At the same time, an increase in the range of motion when flexing the arm and an increase in the pressure on the forefoot were noted, and the inversely proportional relationship between the COP area of the whole body and the heel area of the left foot may indicate the transfer of body mass by the tested players to the metatarsal and forefoot.