Henley, Stefan, Spriggs, Nicole ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1376-6166, Kabaliuk, Natalia, Stitt, Danyon, Swale, Annette, Xu, Congyu, Mangan, Kevin, Hamlin, Mike, Masters, Rich, Melzer, Tracy, Basu, Arindam, Anderson, Tim, Snell, Deborah, Clark, Adrian, Alexander, Keith, Holdsworth, Samantha and Draper, Nick (2026) Effects of one season of rugby on the neurological integrity of male adolescent players. Sports Medicine - Open, 12:14. ISSN 2199-1170 (Print), 2198-9761 (Online) (doi:10.1186/s40798-026-00987-1)

Preview	PDF (Open Access Article) 52837 SPRIGGS_Effects_Of_One_Season_Of_Rugby_On_The_Neurological_Integrity_Of_Male_Adolescent_Players_(OA)_2026.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (3MB) | Preview
Preview	PDF (Supplemental Material) 52837 SPRIGGS_Effects_Of_One_Season_Of_Rugby_On_The_Neurological_Integrity_Of_Male_Adolescent_Players_(SUPPLEMENTAL)_2026.pdf - Supplemental Material Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (56kB) | Preview

Abstract

Background
Rugby union is a popular contact sport during which high impact collisions frequently occur. There is concern for the overall brain health of those playing the game, as concussion is a potential outcome of high impact collisions. Repeated sub-concussive collisions may compromise rugby players’ neurological integrity, but little is known about the effects on young brains. The brain is still developing during adolescence and may generally be more susceptible to injury, but minimal objective research data are available regarding head acceleration events experienced by junior players.
Results
Forty-one adolescent male rugby players underwent pre- and post-season MRI scans and neurocognitive assessments. Participants were fitted with instrumented mouthguards to record head acceleration events experienced during the season. Post-season processing of MRI scans focused on within-subject analysis of pre- to post-season changes in white matter as measured by diffusion tensor imaging. Linear mixed models were used to investigate correlations between neurological changes and cumulative head impact loading recorded by the mouthguards. MRI results indicated a non-significant difference between pre- and post-season for data relating to brain structure and function, including white matter microstructure, in response to one season of contact training and match play for under-16 male rugby players, as measured by diffusion tensor imaging. These results held irrespective of level of exposure.
Conclusions
Our data suggest that exposure to one season of rugby does not appear to result in neurological compromise. The statistical non-significance reported for the main outcome measure also held when controlling for variables, such as training age and headgear use. Although pre- to post-season differences were statistically non
significant, the long-term effects of high exposure may be of clinical significance going forward. Further research, particularly using longitudinal designs, is needed to further elucidate the potential for microstructural neurological changes in adolescent rugby players.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Ethical approval for all procedures and the experimental design was obtained in full from the University of Canterbury Human Ethics Committee prior to undertaking the study. Ethics approval for the study was obtained on 13 July 2021 (Ref: HEC 2021/26). The study was approved by New Zealand Rugby’s (NZR) Medical Science and Advisory Panel (MSAP) [77].
Uncontrolled Keywords:	diffusion tensor imaging, head acceleration event, instrumented mouthguard, adolescent rugby, neuro-cognitive assessment, white matter microstructure
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Last Modified:	16 Apr 2026 10:31
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/52837

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads