Sports, Volume 13, Issue 11

Background: Volleyball requires explosive jumps, agility, and upper and lower limb coordination. Dynamic stretching (DS) and core stability (CS) protocols are often used separately in training sessions, but little is known about their combined effect...

Aims: Structural lower limb-length discrepancies (LLLD) have been classically associated with the etiology of low back pain. However, their biomechanical effects on lower-limb muscle activity during running remain unclear. This pilot crossover study...

This study examined the relationship between training load, mileage, and session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE) as predictors of injury and illness in Division I women’s soccer players. Twenty-four athletes were monitored over a 13-week s...

Sex-related differences in lower-limb biomechanics and neuromuscular strategies during rope jumping remain underexplored, particularly in combat-sport athletes. This study investigated leg stiffness and muscle activation in ten female (22.8 ±...

Background: Sport-related concussion (SRC) is a recognised public health concern, with combat sport athletes particularly vulnerable due to frequent head impacts. In Taekwondo, concussion incidence is comparable to other contact sports, yet underrepo...

Introduction: Numerous overuse injuries affecting the lower limbs of elite athletes have been associated with biomechanical alterations in plantar loading of the foot. This study aimed to analyze the plantar pressure distribution in elite male soccer...

Background: Adequate sleep is essential for recovery and performance in athletes. Internal and external training loads closely relate to sleep, but few studies have examined their distinct off-season effects. This study investigated the relationships...

This study examined the effects of cadence and torque on fatigue-related power output (PO) decline in professional cyclists during the Five Monuments, comparing top-5 finishers with cyclists ranked from 6th to 30th. Retrospective data from 64 male cy...

Due to the highly individualised presentation of sport-related concussion (SRC), multi-domain assessments examining cognitive, migraine, vestibular, ocular, mood, sleep, and neck-related function have been suggested to assist clinicians with diagnosi...

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of a multi-ingredient preworkout supplement (MIPS) on isometric, concentric, and eccentric peak torque and electromyographic (EMG) responses of the leg extensors during a fatiguing is...

Although the hamstring muscles play an important role in running, very little is known about the individual contributions of each hamstring muscle (biceps femoris_{long head}, biceps femoris_{short head}, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus) toward running...

This study aimed to identify distinct external load profiles of 23 semi-professional football players (22.52 ± 1.74 years) during four official matches (40 cases in total; 10 per match). Using GPS-based inertial technology WIMU PRO (Hudl, Linc...

Background: Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is common in athletes, being more frequent in outdoor endurance-based/long-distance sports. We followed a World-Class marathon paddler’s season with recurrent episodes of EIB, which intensi...

This pilot study examined the effects of a 12-week reaction training program on physical and cognitive performance (choice reaction) in U20 Latvian fencers. Five qualified right-handed male fencers (aged 14.8–18.6 years) completed the Vienna Te...

Background: While the positive relationship between mental health and physical activity (PA) is well established, numerous barriers are reported. This study analyzed PA levels and associated barriers in young people attending a national child and ado...

This study compared the effects of core (CTG) or mobility training (MTG) on basketball-specific skills in youth players, focusing on dynamic balance. Both training modalities have a recognized role in enhancing performance, but few studies have exami...

The school-age period is a crucial time for the integrated development of cognitive and motor functions. Literature highlights that physical activity enhances executive functions, including visuospatial working memory (VSWM). In light of this evidenc...

Pickleball is a recent sport, and very little scientific information exists on its match performance, especially for mixed doubles. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the performance profile in relation to sex differences in terms of sh...

Napping is recognized as a strategy to enhance athletic performance. However, the optimal timing and duration for maximizing its benefits remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of a 90 min nap at different times on physical performance,...

Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of a combined Repeated Sprint Training (RST) with Large-Sided Soccer Games (LSSG) on soccer players’ physical performance indicators. Methods: A randomised controlled tr...

Background/Objectives: This exploratory systematic review aims to analyze the influence of isolated muscle flexibility training on the reduction of chronic pain symptoms in older adults aged 65 years or more. Articles were selected from the Web of Sc...

Football (soccer) is the world’s most widely played sport, but it carries a high incidence of traumatic injuries, particularly to the head, face, and lower limbs. Once regarded as a low-equipment discipline, the role of protective devices has e...

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in football mostly occur during defensive (pressing) cut maneuvers. Football-specific cutting movements are key to identifying dangerous biomechanics but hard to evaluate clinically. This study aimed to devel...

The present study aimed to examine the influence of different competition models on the physical performance of under-14 female volleyball players, attending to biological maturity development. A quasi-experimental design was conducted involving 29 r...

Although athletes who have disabilities face unique challenges, little is known about the interaction between mindfulness and emotional intelligence in the context of their psychological self-feeling. This study is among the first to systematically e...

Balance is a key determinant of movement quality and injury prevention in dance, yet targeted dynamic-balance training is rarely embedded in adolescent curricula. This controlled experimental study evaluated a 10-week proprioceptive add-on protocol i...

Vertical jumping is a fundamental motor skill that develops rapidly in early childhood, yet the biomechanical contribution of arm swing in preschool-aged children remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate how arm swing influences countermoveme...

Trail running is a demanding endurance sport where performance prediction models often rely on laboratory testing or pre-race data, limiting their practical application. This study presents a real-time predictive model for marathon and ultra-trail ra...

This study examined the effects of cognitive fatigue on repeated sprint ability (RSA), neuromuscular performance, and vigilance in physically active young adults (N = 28, 16 males, 12 females; mean age = 20.6 ± 1.4 years). Participants were ra...

Background: Infrared thermography and acute muscle fatigue are often correlated in sports medicine for assessing muscle health during and after exercise, but there are no known studies describing the response throughout exercise; therefore, this stud...

Background: High-intensity physical activity elicits acute physiological responses across the metabolic, cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, immune, and neuromuscular systems. During recovery, multiple processes act to restore homeostasis and fun...

Youth motor performance changes are not strictly linear during their sports career, and within-year birth timing may introduce relative age differences, known as the relative-age effect. In a cross-sectional study of 170 male young soccer players (8&...

An integrated physiological model would be useful for monitoring internal load in functional fitness, including formats like CrossFit and Hyrox. Traditional performance metrics often neglect internal strain, energy system engagement, and neuromuscula...

The continuous growth of the older adult population demands an urgent need to provide innovative ways to stimulate physical activity and promote functional health. This study presents FitFest, a custom-made virtual reality (VR) designed to deliver a...

Jump height provides limited insight into movement strategies and muscle-tendon unit (MTU) contraction dynamics of the squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), and drop jump (DJ). This study investigated whether concentric phase variables differ...

Background: The study evaluated the acute effect of dryland maximum strength (MS) training on water polo performance. Methods: Twelve female players (20.3 ± 1.4 years) underwent initial assessments, including a head-out 20 m swim and a one-rep...

The aim of this study is to examine the differences in motivation when playing recreational padel regarding gender and age. The sample included 201 respondents (M = 131, F = 70) with an average age of 31 ± 7.07 years. Data was collected online...

Heart rate (HR) monitoring is a practical method for assessing internal load (IL). However, it remains unclear for which age group HR would be an appropriate predictor of IL considering the relationship with external load (EL). Thus, this study aims...

Background: Falls are a leading cause of injury and disability among older adults. Conventional clinical tests typically do not challenge reactive postural responses to unexpected perturbations, which limits their ability to comprehensively assess fa...

Background: Plyometric training (PT) and resistance training (RT) can improve jumping and sprinting performance, although their comparative effectiveness in elite female basketball players remain unknown. Objectives: To compare the effects of PT and...

Background: This study investigates the precision of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) in evaluating the Finger Tapping Test (FTT) to differentiate motor control competencies in women with fibromyalgia, a clinical population characterized by motor i...

Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, with millions of athletes engaged in it [...]

Background: Accurate anthropometric data provides insight into comprehending morphological optimisation in sports. This study aims to determine the probability that a randomly selected individual from the general reference population falls within the...

Post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) is an acute performance increase in voluntary exercises induced by a conditioning activity. Due to the scarcity of evidence about the effectiveness of distinct protocols, the aim of this study was to com...