The Reaction Time of Mental Rotation Predicts Strain in Rugby Players

Abstract

Abstract. [Purpose] This study investigated the relation between motor imagery and hamstring strain in rugby players.[Subjects] The participants of this study comprised 21 university rugby players (42 legs).[Methods] The motor imagery capacity of the subjects was evaluated using mental rotation and various motor exercises. The subjects were followed up 6 months after the measurements were taken, and the hamstring strain occurring in the intermittent period was investigated.[Results] Seven legs of 6 players (7/ 42, 16.7%) showed symptoms of hamstring strain within 6 months. In addition, all these subjects had medial hamstring injury that had occurred in a non-contact fashion. A significant difference was observed in the reaction time between the strain and non-strain groups for identifying photographs of the plantar view of the foot at an orientation of -90°. Furthermore, a cutoff value of 2.48 sec for this reaction time could predict hamstring strain by discriminant analysis.[Conclusion] Capacity of motor imagery influences the development of hamstring strain.

Risk factors for hamstring muscle strain injury in sport: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Eleven articles54 55 57 59 62 64 69 71 75 80 81 did not report on the reliability and validity of the tests to examine risk factors and subsequently did not score on item 20.…”

“…Twelve studies55 59 60 62 66 70 73 77 78 80–82 did not use adequate adjustment for confounding variables, particularly previous injury and age. Without adequate adjustment for confounding variables, the results of some studies may not be accurate.…”

“…Fourteen of the prospective studies included investigated hamstring muscle strain-type injuries in Australian football,1 54 55 58 63–66 69 71 74–77 10 studies investigated soccer,53 56 60–62 67 68 72 78 79 five studies investigated track and field59 70 73 81 82 while two studies investigated rugby 57 80. The follow-up period varied between 3 weeks and 8 years (Supplemental file).…”

“…Seven studies (835 participants) evaluated the effect of BMI on hamstring muscle strain-type injuries 53 57 61 64 67 74 80. Meta-analysis using three studies53 61 80 demonstrated no association between BMI and hamstring injury (SDM=1.28, 95% CI −1.35 to 3.90, p=0.34, I 2 =98%).…”

Neuromuscular Adaptation Induced by Motor Imagery Training in the Serial Reaction Time Task

“…Hence, mental practice (MP) is the repeated imagination of movements using MI. Motor imagery-based mental practice is commonly used in many fields of neuroscience, such as physical therapy, rehabilitation medicine, sports science, etc [12][13][14] . Many studies have reported that the imagination of performing a motor task improves the ability of the performance and is accompanied by effective processing in the motor learning system 13,15,16) .…”