The Scientific Identity of Kinesiology and the Applied Development of Physical Activity and Sports Science: The Italian Contribution Within a European Perspective

1. Introduction

Physical inactivity and hypokinesia are major contemporary challenges for health and well-being. They increase the need for effective strategies that promote regular physical activity across populations and settings. Physical activity and sport are not limited to performance and recreation; they also contribute to health promotion, education, functional development, prevention, and psychophysical well-being. Translating these functions into practice requires scientifically grounded educational and professional pathways. This challenge has a specific European dimension. The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) enables national qualifications to be compared through learning outcomes [1]. The Bologna Process and the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area promote three-cycle degree structures, ECTS-based transparency, quality assurance, recognition, and mobility [2]. In Italy, the constitutional recognition of the educational, social, and health-promoting value of sporting activity has consolidated the cultural and institutional relevance of the field [3]. This national development should therefore be interpreted within a wider European effort to make movement-related qualifications, competencies, and occupational roles more transparent and comparable.

Applied research in Exercise and Sport Sciences increasingly connects different levels of intervention, from school-based physical education and motor learning to sport training, athlete monitoring, rehabilitation, and technology-supported exercise. Research on teaching methods has highlighted the relevance of both instructional organization and learners’ perceptions and awareness [4,5], while contemporary approaches to motor learning and sport emphasize the interaction between individual, task, and environmental constraints [6,7,8]. At the same time, the development of professional and academic competencies remains central to the capacity of the field to respond to emerging health and sport demands [9,10,11,12].

The contributions collected in this Special Issue reflect an applied and multidisciplinary understanding of Exercise and Sport Sciences. Across analyses of the scientific community, sport performance, exercise for health, physical education, motor competence, ecological-dynamic approaches, athlete monitoring, psychological recovery, and technology-supported exercise and rehabilitation, they connect assessment with intervention and disciplinary development with professional practice. Taken together, the studies show how a coherent scientific field can address diverse populations and contexts while maintaining a shared focus on evidence-informed movement, health, education, and performance.

Within this Editorial, kinesiology is understood as the integrative scientific study of human movement and physical activity and of their effects on health, society, and quality of life. This formulation is consistent with the broad disciplinary conception advanced by the American Kinesiology Association and the National Academy of Kinesiology, while also aligning with the American College of Sports Medicine’s emphasis on the scientific foundations and practical application of exercise to promote health and human performance [13]. It is also compatible with the learning-outcome approach of the European Higher Education Area, which promotes comparability of qualifications while allowing national systems to preserve distinctive academic and professional structures.

Kinesiology should therefore not be used interchangeably with Exercise and Sport Sciences. Rather, it represents the overarching interdisciplinary field devoted to the scientific study of human movement across the lifespan and in a wide range of contexts. Within this framework, exercise science is commonly regarded as one of its principal subdisciplines, primarily concerned with physiological, biomechanical, and clinical responses and adaptations to exercise, as well as with evidence-based exercise prescription. Sport sciences focus more specifically on sport participation, coaching, training, performance, and their institutional and sociocultural dimensions. Beyond these areas, kinesiology also encompasses disciplines such as motor learning and control, biomechanics, physical education pedagogy, psychology, sociology, public health, and rehabilitation, all unified by the study of human movement.

In Italy, this distinction is especially important because the field has historically been organized through degree courses and academic classifications labelled as Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, while the legal recognition of kinesiologists has more recently strengthened a specific professional identity. The Italian case thus reflects convergence with European qualification principles but also a nationally specific relationship among disciplinary nomenclature, university education, and regulated professional roles.

2. Overview of the Special Issue Contributions

The first contribution examines the scientific community of Exercise and Sport Sciences scholars in Italy through an exploratory analysis of academic and professional characteristics (contribution 1). The study provides a disciplinary and professional perspective that is relevant to the development of kinesiology and Exercise and Sport Sciences and to the relationship between academic knowledge, professional practice, and contemporary institutional changes.

The second contribution investigates the relationship between ankle mobility, elastic strength, and rate of force development in Kata and Kumite karate athletes (contribution 2). By examining physical and neuromuscular characteristics across two disciplines, the study illustrates how applied sport science can support a more specific understanding of performance-related demands and movement characteristics.

The third contribution evaluates a twelve-week virtual square-stepping exercise program in Spanish women with fibromyalgia (contribution 3). The study considers physical function, fibromyalgia impact, pain, and falls, placing exercise within a health-promotion perspective and addressing the potential role of structured physical activity for people living with a chronic condition.

The fourth contribution examines the integration of football eSports within an ecological-dynamic approach and its effects on linear speed development in young soccer players (contribution 4). It connects digital environments with youth training and ecological-dynamic principles, illustrating how technological innovation can be incorporated into sport practice while maintaining attention to perception, action, adaptation, and task constraints.

The fifth contribution presents a preliminary Latvian version of the RESTQ-76 for athletes as a tool for monitoring recovery and stress (contribution 5). The study extends the health dimension of Exercise and Sport Sciences to the monitoring of training-related stress and recovery, highlighting the importance of psychological and self-regulatory dimensions in athlete health and performance.

The sixth contribution proposes an integrated model for assessing motor skills in trainee primary school teachers (contribution 6). By combining objective motor-performance measures with self-observation, the study links motor competence with body awareness and educational preparation. This perspective is consistent with the role of schools and qualified teachers in promoting physical activity from early life [2,3].

The seventh contribution compares the cognitive and physiological effects of traditional and virtual-reality exercise in adults with overweight or obesity (contribution 7). The study represents the health and technological dimensions of the Special Issue by examining exercise responses through physiological and cognitive outcomes and exploring the potential of virtual reality as an additional context for physical activity.

The eighth contribution investigates the acute effects of caffeine supplementation during Paralympic powerlifting training on static strength and oxidative-stress parameters (contribution 8). The study addresses exercise physiology and performance in Paralympic sport, contributing to a broader understanding of how training responses and individual characteristics can be considered within applied sports science.

The ninth contribution examines user experience and adherence in immersive virtual-reality rehabilitation for women with fibromyalgia through a post hoc exploratory analysis (contribution 9). The study focuses on the interaction between technology, rehabilitation, user experience, and adherence, further illustrating the potential convergence of physical activity, health, and digital innovation in contemporary applied research.

Across these nine contributions, three clusters emerge: the development of disciplinary and professional identity; the assessment and optimization of sport performance; and the use of exercise, education, and digital technology to support health and rehabilitation. These clusters provide the basis for the cross-cutting interpretation developed in the following section.

3. Cross-Cutting Perspectives and Applied Implications

Taken together, the nine contributions illustrate the breadth of contemporary applied research in Exercise and Sport Sciences and the multiple pathways through which physical activity can support health, performance, education, and well-being. Their heterogeneity supports rather than weakens disciplinary identity because diversity occurs across populations, settings, methods, and outcomes, while disciplinary integration is maintained through three fundamental dimensions: a shared object of inquiry, namely human movement; a common translational logic linking assessment, explanation, and intervention; and shared standards of empirical testability, contextual validity, and professional relevance. The field is therefore coherent not because every study uses the same theory or endpoint, but because different forms of evidence are organized around understanding and intentionally modifying movement-related behaviour and capacity. Fragmentation would arise if the subdomains ceased to share concepts, measures, or problems; in this collection, by contrast, findings on motor competence, training response, recovery, adherence, and professional practice remain mutually interpretable through their relationship to movement and adaptation.

A compact conceptual model can represent this structure through three interacting clusters centred on human movement: (1) disciplinary and professional identity, defining knowledge, competencies, and legitimate practice; (2) performance and adaptation, addressing training demands, monitoring, recovery, and optimization; and (3) health, education, and rehabilitation, applying movement to participation, learning, prevention, and functional improvement. Assessment and intervention represent a shared translational axis across all clusters, while technology functions as an enabling layer rather than an independent domain. Their interaction shows that professional standards influence intervention delivery, performance measures may contribute to health monitoring, and health-oriented technologies may generate applications in sport and education. Thus, disciplinary identity emerges from structured integration rather than from the convergence of distinct areas into a single category.

This integration also involves productive tensions. Technology can enhance measurement, accessibility, and adherence, but excessive emphasis on innovation may weaken pedagogical judgement, embodied interaction, and equity. Likewise, performance-oriented approaches prioritize optimization and specificity, whereas health-oriented approaches emphasize safety, inclusion, and sustainability. Kinesiology’s scientific identity is strengthened when these tensions are managed through theory-informed design, balanced risk–benefit evaluation, and outcomes that consider both effectiveness and practical feasibility.

A first cross-cutting perspective concerns health promotion across different stages and conditions of life. The studies involving people with fibromyalgia, overweight or obesity, trained primary school teachers, young athletes, and Paralympic athletes show that physical activity can be investigated through functional, physiological, cognitive, psychological, educational, and performance-related outcomes. In this context, the promotion of active lifestyles is closely connected with physical literacy, motor competence, self-perception, and the ability of professionals to design appropriate interventions [14,15]. The relationship between basic and applied research is particularly relevant because scientific findings acquire practical value when they can inform teaching, training, monitoring, prevention, or rehabilitation [16].

A second perspective concerns methodological innovation and the progressive integration of different approaches. Ecological-dynamic principles, non-linear pedagogy, heuristic learning, representative task design, digital environments, virtual reality, and integrated assessment models provide complementary ways of studying and facilitating movement behaviour [15]. Rather than replacing prescriptive methods, these approaches broaden the methodological repertoire available for teaching, training, assessment, and rehabilitation. Technology-supported interventions are most valuable when they address clearly defined health or performance objectives, improve engagement or adherence, and are evaluated against accessible non-digital alternatives. Their adoption should therefore remain evidence-based, population-specific, and attentive to feasibility in real-world settings.

A third perspective concerns the development of workforce and scientific competencies. Effective health-oriented physical activity interventions require trained teachers, kinesiologists, coaches, and other practitioners able to interpret evidence and translate it into context-specific practice [17]. This requires a broader competence profile, including digital literacy, ecological-dynamic pedagogical competence, and assessment literacy. Professionals should be able to critically use digital technologies, evaluate data quality and limitations, design representative learning environments through constraint manipulation, select valid assessment tools, and adapt interventions according to individual responses. These skills should be complemented by evidence appraisal, ethical reasoning, inclusive communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the ability to individualize programs across health, education, and performance settings. Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, may support these competencies by facilitating the analysis of scientific and regulatory information and the mapping of qualifications and competencies, while human expertise remains essential for interpretation, ethical evaluation, and final decision-making.

Across Europe, convergence occurs mainly through shared qualification principles rather than through a single occupational model. The EQF and Bologna architecture support comparability, learning outcomes, mobility, and quality assurance [1,2], while access to movement- and exercise-related professions remains shaped by national regulations. Spain represents a broad graduate model integrating exercise physiology, biomechanics, physical education, training, health-oriented activity, and sport management, whereas Italy has progressively differentiated academic pathways and professional roles. Law No. 86/2019 and Legislative Decree No. 36/2021 [18,19] reflect this transition by strengthening links between qualifications, competencies, and occupational functions. The 2024 reform of academic recruitment fields [11] further influences the visibility and organization of kinesiology-related scholarship, although its impact will depend on whether curricula integrate biological, pedagogical, technological, and sociocultural perspectives rather than maintaining fragmented specializations.

The findings of this Special Issue have direct curricular implications. Research on technology, ecological-dynamic approaches, motor competence, assessment, athlete monitoring, health conditions, and inclusive sport should inform modules and practical experiences focused on technology appraisal, representative learning design, multimethod assessment, individualized prescription, and interdisciplinary practice. Programs should therefore promote research literacy as an applied professional competence, demonstrated through the ability to design, justify, implement, and evaluate interventions with real or simulated participants [20]. Italy illustrates both European convergence and continuing regulatory diversity, highlighting the importance of clear learning outcomes, qualification recognition, and dialogue within European academic networks.

The interpretation of the Special Issue should nevertheless consider the methodological limitations of its contributions. Several studies are exploratory or preliminary, with constraints related to sample size, statistical power, study design, and heterogeneity of populations, interventions, and outcomes. Future research should prioritize preregistered, adequately powered, and multicentre studies, supported by transparent reporting, appropriate comparators, and validated outcome measures. Harmonized core outcome frameworks could facilitate comparison, replication, and evidence synthesis while preserving disciplinary and contextual diversity. Until stronger evidence accumulates, these contributions should be considered as generating hypotheses, identifying feasible applications, and guiding future confirmatory research rather than supporting broad causal or policy conclusions.

4. Conclusions

The nine contributions provide complementary perspectives on how Exercise and Sport Sciences translate knowledge about human movement into applications for health promotion, education, performance, monitoring, rehabilitation, and technological innovation. Their common element is not merely practical relevance, but the use of scientific assessment and context-sensitive intervention to address problems involving different populations, settings, and professional roles.

From an Italian and European perspective, the collection highlights the increasingly interconnected character of Exercise and Sport Sciences. Future research should strengthen the relationship between scientific evidence and applied intervention through multicentre and longitudinal designs, shared outcome measures, transparent reporting, and closer evaluation of implementation in educational, clinical, and sport settings. Combining rigorous assessment with innovative teaching and training methods, responsible technological development, and clearly defined professional competencies can support more effective responses to physical inactivity and the promotion of sustainable active lifestyles.