Abstract:

There is an ongoing search on how to enhance the sprint performance of athletes. One should likely start investigating beyond traditional sport-training techniques about enhancing the sprinting ability of an athlete. Female rugby players were randomly assigned to one of the two groups an experimental group (n = 5) and a control group (n = 5). Data were collected during pre-season and end-season on hamstring flexibility and sprint performance. Unpaired t-tests with an alpha level of p ≤ 0.05, Pearson correlation coefficient for the correlation. The experimental group significantly improved their straight leg raise test (SLR) by 29.1 ± 15.3-degrees (mean % change ± 95% CI, p < 0.05) and 5 m sprint time -10.4 ± 10.2 % compared to the control group 2.9 ± 15.3-degree (p = 0.05), and time difference of 9.9 ± 6.1% respectively. There was also a moderate negative correlation between SLR and 5 m sprint performance time (r = -0.29, p < 0.05 statistical significance. Results indicate that a 12-week yoga training helped improve the hamstring flexibility and performance of the 5 m acceleration phases of the 20 m sprint of rugby union players compared to a control group. Yoga helped rugby players to improve their hamstring flexibility when practiced alongside normal rugby training but maybe did little to improve sprint measures greater than 5 m performance during the season.

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