No abstract

The physical demands and combative nature of rugby lead to notable levels of muscle damage. In professional rugby, athletes only have a limited timeframe to recover following training sessions and competition. Through the implementation of recovery strategies, sport scientists, practitioners and coaches have sought to reduce the effect of fatigue and allow athletes to recover faster. Although some studies demonstrate that recovery strategies are extensively used by rugby athletes, the research remains equivocal concerning the efficacy of recovery strategies in rugby. Moreover, given the role of inflammation arising from muscle damage in the mediation of protein synthesis mechanisms, some considerations have been raised on the long-term effect of using certain recovery modalities that diminish inflammation. While some studies aimed to understand the effects of recovery modalities during the acute recovery phase (<48 h post-match), others investigated the effect of recovery modalities during a more prolonged timeframe (i.e. during a training week). Regarding the acute effectiveness of different recovery modalities, cold water immersion and contrast baths seem to provide a beneficial effect on creatine kinase clearance, neuromuscular performance and delayed onset of muscle soreness. There is support in the literature concerning the effect of compression garments on enhancing recovery from delayed onset of muscle soreness; however, conflicting findings were observed for the restoration of neuromuscular function with the use of this strategy. Using a short-duration active recovery protocol seems to yield little benefit to recovery from rugby training or competition. Given that cold modalities may potentially affect muscle size adaptations from training, their inclusion should be treated with caution and perhaps restricted to certain periods where athlete readiness is more important than increases in muscle size.

These results provide evidence that crucial architectural and mechanical muscle adaptations are dependent on the ROM used in strength training. It seems that muscle FL and specific tension can be increased by pure concentric training if greater ROM is used. Conversely, restricting the ROM to shorter muscle lengths promotes a greater PCSA and angle-specific strength adaptations.

Context: Given the relatively novel technique of tissue flossing is currently lacking in the research literature despite some positive findings in preliminary studies, the modality clearly requires further research. Current evidence suggests that band flossing results in performance improvements and may also be an effective method in injury prevention. Objective: Previous research has shown that tissue flossing may result in increased ankle range of motion, jump, and sprinting performance in recreational athletes. The present study aims to extend on this research, within an elite athlete sample. Design: Counterbalanced, cross-over design with experimental and control trials, separated by 1 week. Setting: University laboratory. Participants: Fourteen professional male rugby union athletes (mean [SD]: age 23.9 [2.7] y). Intervention: Application of a floss band to both ankles (FLOSS) for 2 minutes or without flossing of the ankle joints (CON) on 2 separate occasions. Main Outcome Measures: A weight-bearing lunge test, a countermovement jump test, and a 20-m sprint test at pre and at 5 and 30 minutes post application of the floss band or control. Results: There were no statistically significant interactions between treatment (FLOSS/CON) and time for any of the measured variables (P > .05). Effect size analysis revealed small benefits for FLOSS in comparison with CON for countermovement performance 5 minutes post (d = 0.28) and for 10-m (d = −0.45) and 15-m (d = −0.24) sprint time 30 minutes post. Conclusion: Findings from the current study suggest minimal benefits of tissue flossing when applied to the ankle joint in elite athletes for up to 30 minutes following their application.