This study investigated machine scrummaging at different playing levels in rugby union and analysed kinetic factors that might influence performance and injury risk. Thirty-four forward packs from six different playing levels scrummaged against an instrumented scrum machine under real environmental conditions. Applied forces were measured in three orthogonal directions. The peak (SD) of the overall compression forces during engagement ranged between 16.5 (1.4) kN (International-Elite) and 8.7 (0.1) kN (Women), while sustained compression forces spanned between 8.3 (1.0) kN (International) and 4.8 (0.5) kN (Women). The peak of the overall vertical force during the initial engagement phase was between -3.9 (0.7) kN (Elite) and -2.0 (1.0) kN (School), and the range of lateral forces was between 1.8 (0.3) kN (International) and 1.1 (0.3) kN (School). Forces measured across all playing levels, particularly during initial engagement, were generally higher than those measured in the most commonly cited previous studies. This increase may be due to a combination of changes in modern scrummaging technique, changes in players' anthropometrics, and experimental conditions that better respect ecological validity. The magnitude of the measured forces is in the range of values that studies on cadaveric specimens have indicated as potentially hazardous for (chronic) spine injuries.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 37. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 21 October 2019.
All research outputs
#1,206,299
of 27,356,215 outputs
Outputs from Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
#381
of 3,066 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#9,822
of 298,864 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
#7
of 38 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 27,356,215 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 95th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,066 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 23.1. This one has done well, scoring higher than 87% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 298,864 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 38 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 81% of its contemporaries.
