Does instructional video footage improve tackle technique?

Abstract

There is a high incidence of injury during rugby tackling. Tackle biomechanics are linked to this injury risk. The effectiveness of educational methods in teaching safe rugby tackling for players of various ages and experience levels has not been elucidated. We hypothesized that watching an educational video on rugby tackling technique would alter lower extremity kinematics and reduce cervical spine and head acceleration during tackling. Kinematics and kinetics of 50 collegiate and high school-aged rugby players were recorded while tackling an opponent in a laboratory setting. Movement of the lower extremity, upper body, and head were quantified with a motion analysis system. Participants were shown video instruction on tackling technique then performed another series of tackles. Data were compared pre- and post-educational intervention. A fixed effects model was used to compare the effect of repetition versus educational intervention. Skilled collegiate players tackled with significantly greater mean knee flexion angle post-educational intervention relative to pre-instruction, indicative of better technique. The fixed effects model indicated that video instruction decreased acceleration by a mean 51.8 m/s² in collegiate players. However, the effect of repetition was shown to increase peak acceleration by a mean 11.2 m/s². In contrast, the educational intervention resulted in an increased acceleration of 15.4 m/s² for high school players, but the effect of repetition was shown to decrease acceleration by a mean of 5.2 m/s². Experienced players respond as expected to video instructional intervention. Repetition may be more important for younger rugby players to learn effective tackling.