Blood haematology measures for 16 tug of war athletes and 20 rugby union forwards
| Tug of war | Rugby forwards | Expected laboratory values | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Values are presented as mean (SEM). | |||
| *Significant difference between the groups, p<0.05 (unpaired t test). | |||
| Packed cell volume (%) | 43.3 (0.5)* | 46.4 (0.4) | 40–54 |
| Haemoglobin (g/l) | 150 (2)* | 154 (1) | 14–16 |
| Red blood cells (×1012/l) | 5.0 (0.1) | 5.0 (0.1) | 4.6–6.5 |
| White blood cells (×109/l) | 6.7 (0.3) | 6.6 (0.3) | 4–8 |
| Red blood cell volume (fl) | 86.4 (0.8)* | 92.2 (1.7) | 82–89 |
| Platelets (×109/l) | 232.2 (11.1) | 246.3 (10.6) | 150–400 |