title: Sensory organisation and reactive balance control of amateur rugby players: A cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study compared the sensory organisation and reactive balance control of amateur rugby players and a control group.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-one amateur rugby players (22 males: 19 females; mean height ± SD = 168.8 ± 8.8 cm; mean weight ± SD = 63.9 ± 12.5 kg) and 31 control participants (22 males: 9 females; mean height ± SD = 171.5 ± 10.3 cm; mean weight ± SD = 63.8 ± 10.3 kg) completed the study. Their sensory organisation and standing balance performance were evaluated using a sensory organisation test (SOT), and their reactive balance performance was quantified using a motor control test (MCT). The SOT equilibrium scores (ES) and sensory ratios and the MCT motor response latencies were the major outcome measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results revealed that compared to the controls, amateur rugby players had lower SOT ESs under different sensory environments (P < .001, [Formula: see text] = 0.142-0.254) and prolonged reactive motor response times in the MCT (P < .001, d = 0.890). The vestibular and visual ratios were also lower in the rugby group (P = .005, [Formula: see text] = 0.107 and 0.108, respectively). No significant difference was found in the somatosensory ratio (P = .853, [Formula: see text] < 0.001) between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Amateur rugby players demonstrated inferior standing balance performance compared to their non-trained counterparts. They relied less heavily on vestibular and visual inputs to maintain standing balance under different sensory environments. In addition, they reacted more slowly to postural disturbance, reflecting their suboptimal reactive balance ability in standing.
authors.affiliation: a School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine , The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong.|b Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences , The Education University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Gary C C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.affiliation: c Department of Health and Physical Education , The Education University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Joanne W Y
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: c Department of Health and Physical Education , The Education University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ada W W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: a School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine , The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Duncan J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Macfarlane
authors.affiliation: a School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine , The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Shirley S M
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Fong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005538:Football / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Rugby; motor control; postural control; sensory organisation