{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T02:44:01Z","timestamp":1787021041849,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sports Med - Open"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Head acceleration event (HAE) outcomes in elite men\u2019s rugby union have been well described during matches and in-season training but have not been investigated during pre-season training.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Describe HAE incidence and magnitude during elite men\u2019s pre-season rugby union training.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Data was collected from three English PREM Rugby clubs (44 training sessions and 53 players) during field-based training sessions using instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) throughout the pre-season training period before the 2025\u201326 season. Training drills were recorded using routinely tagged GPS data. The incidence of HAEs was calculated per player minute, for forwards and backs, and during training sessions during the first, middle, and final three-week phases of pre-season. A negative binomial generalised linear mixed model compared playing position, and phases of pre-season, expressed as incidence rate ratios (IRR).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The magnitude of HAEs were positively skewed. The mean incidence of HAEs\u2009\u2265\u20095\u00a0g and\u2009\u2265\u20090.4 krad\/s\n                      <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                      during a pre-season training session was 0.08\/min [95% CI 0.07\u20130.09] and equated to 5.09\u2009\u00b1\u20095.12 HAEs per player-training-session exposure. The mean incidence of HAEs\u2009\u2265\u20095\u00a0g and\u2009\u2265\u20090.4 krad\/s\n                      <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                      for forwards was 0.10\/min [0.08\u20130.11] and equated to 5.87\u2009\u00b1\u20095.51 HAEs per player-training-session exposure, compared to 0.05\/min [0.04\u20130.07] and 3.22\u2009\u00b1\u20093.39 HAEs per player-training-session exposure for backs (IRR\u2009=\u20091.84 [1.02\u20133.31],\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.041). The mean HAE incidence for forwards during the first three weeks of pre-season was lower (0.05\/min [0.03\u20130.08]) than the middle (0.09\/min [0.07\u20130.11]) and final (0.13\/min [0.11\u20130.15]) three weeks. The incidence of HAEs for backs was similar in the first (0.04\/min [0.02\u20130.06]), middle (0.06\/min [0.04\u20130.08] and final (0.06\/min [0.04\u20130.08]) three weeks. The incidence of HAEs during the middle (IRR\u2009=\u20091.55 [1.14\u20132.11],\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.005) and final (IRR\u2009=\u20092.82 [2.06\u20133.85],\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.001) phases of pre-season was statistically significant.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The incidence and magnitude of HAEs during pre-season is very low compared to matches and similar to in-season training. Future work should identify players who accumulate more HAEs in matches and training compared to the rest of the population, and why. This study completes a holistic understanding of HAE exposure throughout a season, which can be used to benchmark individual\u2019s exposure against.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40798-026-01072-3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T08:23:22Z","timestamp":1784103802000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Head Acceleration Event Exposure during Pre-Season Training in Elite Men\u2019s Rugby Union"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0841-7009","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Samuel","family":"Hudson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1428-9282","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gregory","family":"Roe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matt","family":"Cross","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4274-6236","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ben","family":"Jones","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3250-2713","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simon","family":"Kemp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5049-2838","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Keith","family":"Stokes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"reference":[{"issue":"8","key":"1072_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"825","DOI":"10.1080\/02640410801942122","volume":"26","author":"SP Roberts","year":"2008","unstructured":"Roberts SP, Trewartha G, Higgitt RJ, et al. 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The study was performed following the standards of ethics outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided written consent.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","label":"Consent for Publication","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"SH is funded by the Rugby Football Union and PREM Rugby. GR is part-funded by World Rugby and PREM Rugby. MC is employed by PREM Rugby. BJ is employed by PREM Rugby and Rugby Football League as a consultant and has received funding for research from Prevent Biometrics and World Rugby. SK and KS are employed by the Rugby Football Union.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","label":"Competing Interests","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}}],"article-number":"100"}}