Research summary · Training and performance
Rotation-specific neck training produces direction-specific adaptations in youth rugby
Thirty-two adolescent male rugby players were stratified by starting strength into control, conventional neck-training or conventional-plus-rotation groups. Supervised training occurred twice weekly for eight weeks, with blinded strength assessments.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Three-group controlled intervention study
- Journal
- Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
- Population / context
- Rugby union · Adolescent male players
What the publication reports
Both training groups improved total multidirectional neck strength, while controls did not. The rotation-strength group-by-time interaction favoured direction-specific adaptation. These results support assessing which movement directions a programme actually trains, rather than treating neck strength as one undifferentiated capacity.
Limits and interpretation
The small study measured strength, not concussions or match head acceleration. It cannot establish concussion prevention. The abstract reports a post-hoc P value of 0.028 despite a stated 0.008 threshold, so isolated pairwise superiority should be interpreted cautiously.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
The Effect of a Novel 8-Week Strengthening Program on Isometric, Multidirectional Cervical Strength in Adolescent Male Rugby Players
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42820728DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005667Reader discussion
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