Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Applied Sciences Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Applied Biomechanics: Sports Performance and Rehabilitation

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2026 | Viewed by 3341

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Brian Wallace

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 104 Albee, 800 Algoma Blvd, Oshkosh, WI 54904, USA
Interests: biomechanical risk factors and mechanisms of sports and exercise injury; kinetic quantification of plyometric and other resistance exercise; neuromuscular responses and adaptations to resistance training; biomechanics teaching pedagogy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Naghmeh Gheidi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Health Professions, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 1725 State Street, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA
Interests: exercise biomechanics; rehabilitation; musculoskeletal disorders; gait analysis; lower body injury prevention; motor control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sports and performance coaches, athletes, and medical personnel, such as athletic trainers and sports medicine physicians, increasingly rely on evidence-based information to inform their practice. Biomechanics is at the forefront of sports science and sports medicine research. Biomechanical principles can inform and lead to preferential sporting techniques, improved training methods, better rehabilitation programs, safer equipment, and advancements in medical procedures.

In this Special Issue, submissions of contemporary research related to all aspects of sports and rehabilitation biomechanics are invited. Possible topic areas broadly include the biomechanics of sporting performance, strength and conditioning, and sports injury. Both experimental studies and review papers, including critically appraised topics, are welcome. We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Dr. Brian Wallace
Dr. Naghmeh Gheidi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

injury
rehabilitation
sports training
brain injury
strength and conditioning
performance

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 5309 KB

Open AccessArticle

Sensitivity of Ball Landing Location to Variations in Release Velocity in Cricket Spin Bowling

by Bangarusai Chinagodaba, Peter Alway, Hamish Bull, Narendra Yadav and Mark King

Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(8), 3991; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16083991 - 20 Apr 2026

Viewed by 745

Abstract

Consistent control of landing length is critical in cricket spin bowling, yet the sensitivity of landing location to variations in the release velocity components remains unclear. This study quantified the tolerance bands (margin of error) of horizontal (Vy) and vertical (Vz) release velocities required for a ball to land within a 2 m good-length zone (3.37–5.37 m from the batter’s stumps), and examined their dependence on the release height. A six-degree-of-freedom aerodynamic model incorporating gravity, drag, and Magnus forces was used to simulate ball flight for a representative off-spin delivery. The release height was varied between 1.95 and 2.30 m, and the trajectories were solved using a fourth-order Runge–Kutta method with a 0.00001 s time step. Tolerance bands were determined via a bisection search. The results show that the vertical velocity exhibited substantially tighter margins than the horizontal forward velocity. Across release heights, the mean ΔVy was 3.86 ± 0.15 m·s⁻¹ (16.4% of release speed), whereas the mean ΔVz was 1.03 ± 0.03 m·s⁻¹ (4.3%). These findings indicate that pace variation is safer than trajectory variation for achieving consistent ball landings in spin bowling. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Biomechanics: Sports Performance and Rehabilitation)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1248 KB

Open AccessArticle

Gait Stability and Structure During a 30 Minute Treadmill Run: Implications for Protocol Duration and Shoe Familiarity

by Paul William Macdermid, Stephanie Julie Walker and Darryl Cochrane

Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(6), 2683; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16062683 - 11 Mar 2026

Viewed by 452

Abstract

Gait parameters are commonly reported, but their stability over durations representative of a typical continuous run remains poorly understood. This study investigated the stability and temporal structure of key spatiotemporal and kinetic parameters during a 30 min easy-paced treadmill run (13 km∙h⁻¹) while participants wore familiar and unfamiliar every day running shoes. Step-level data were analysed across the full time series and in sequential 1 min epochs to determine how long each parameter took to reach practical stability and whether this differed between shoe conditions. Approximately 2450 steps were analysed per condition. Within-participant variability was low (CV < 2.5%) for all parameters and conditions except for peak impact force (CV = 6.9–7.0%) and average loading rate (CV = 8.4–8.7%). Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA-α) indicated persistent temporal structure for stride duration, swing time, and active peak force, whereas loading-phase kinetics showed weak long-range dependence. No significant differences were observed between shoe conditions for variability or temporal structure, although ground contact time was significantly longer when participants wore unfamiliar shoes. Practical windows of stability relative to each participant’s 30 min mean ranged from 11 to 17 min for spatiotemporal variables, 9 to 17 min for active peak force, and within the first minute for impact-related parameters and impulse. These findings indicate that studies examining spatiotemporal and kinetic parameters during easy-paced treadmill running require 11–17 min of continuous data to obtain 1 min epoch estimates that are practically stable relative to 30 min averages, regardless of footwear familiarity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Biomechanics: Sports Performance and Rehabilitation)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 697 KB

Open AccessArticle

A Pilot Study on Whether Cycling with Different Levels of Electronic Assistance Changes Muscle Activity of the Lower Limb in People with Knee Osteoarthritis

by Jia Yi Choo, Tahlia McDonald, Tze Fung Yau, Louisa F. Keil, Ka Hei Chu, Kevin J. Netto and Dale W. Chapman

Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(4), 1713; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16041713 - 9 Feb 2026

Viewed by 707

Abstract

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) often results in reduced physical activity. This exploratory study evaluated lower limb muscle activity across three e-cycling assistance levels and examined e-cycling’s influence on kinesiophobia, stress and exercise motivation in individuals with KOA. Methods: Ten participants cycled with no, low and high assistance on an e-bike. Muscle activity and knee kinematics were measured using surface electromyography and inertia measurement units. A subset of four participants completed questionnaires assessing kinesiophobia (TSK-17), perceived stress (PSS), and exercise motivation (BREQ-3). Muscle activity across the three levels of assistance was analysed using a linear mixed-effects model. Results: Peak and mean muscle activity of rectus femoris (p = 0.01; 0.039), vastus medialis oblique (p = 0.0002; 0.001) and biceps femoris (p = 0.002; 0.03) were lower during high-assistance compared to the no-assistance cycling. No significant differences were observed in mean muscle activity between no- and low-assistance cycling. Reported exertion and pain were low during e-cycling, with kinesiophobia (M = 35.8 ± 2.5 to 33.3 ± 3.5) decreasing following e-cycling, whereas perceived stress (M = 14 ± 5.7 to 14.5 ± 3.3) increased marginally in our small sample. In the small subgroup of participants, the Behaviour Regulation Exercise Questionnaire outcomes increased in four out of six subscores post-exercise. Conclusions: Considering the differences in muscle activity recorded, and given that this is a pilot study, we propose that e-cycling may be an ideal way of introducing graded exercise to KOA patients, potentially allowing them to maintain physical activity and self-management of their disease. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Biomechanics: Sports Performance and Rehabilitation)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 1194 KB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Induced Forward Leg Movements on Kinematics and Kinetics During Quiet Standing in Healthy Young Right-Leg-Dominant Women: A Quasi-Experimental Study

by Michalina Gulatowska, Michalina Błażkiewicz, Anatolii Tsos and Jacek Wąsik

Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(19), 10764; https://doi.org/10.3390/app151910764 - 6 Oct 2025

Viewed by 866

Abstract

Background: Postural control in healthy young adults involves complex neuromuscular processes; however, the kinematic and kinetic consequences of small, forward leg perturbations in a defined population are not fully described. This study aimed to characterize the kinematic and kinetic consequences of forward leg perturbations during quiet standing. Methods: This investigation used a quasi-experimental repeated-measures design. Sixteen healthy young women (20.1 ± 0.7 years), all right-leg dominant, were tested using the Gait Real-Time Analysis Interactive Laboratory (GRAIL) system. Forward treadmill perturbations were applied to each limb during quiet standing, and joint angles, ground reaction forces, and torques were measured across baseline, perturbation, and response phases. As the data were non-normally distributed, paired comparisons were conducted using the Wilcoxon test, with significance set at p < 0.05 (Bonferroni corrected) and effect sizes (r) reported. Results: Joint angles remained symmetrical between limbs (no significant differences after correction). In contrast, kinetic measures showed clear asymmetries: at baseline, the dominant limb produced greater knee torque (p = 0.0003, r = 0.73), ankle torque (p = 0.0003, r = 0.76), and medio-lateral GRF (p = 0.0003, r = 0.87). During perturbation, it again generated higher knee (p = 0.0036, r = 0.43) and ankle torques (p = 0.0003, r = 0.53), with larger medio-lateral GRF (p = 0.0003, r = 0.87). In the response phase, the dominant limb showed greater hip torque (p = 0.0033, r = 0.43) and a small dorsiflexion shift at the ankle (p = 0.0066, r = 0.41). Anterior–posterior GRF changes were minor and non-significant after correction. Conclusions: Induced forward leg movements caused limb-specific kinetic adjustments while maintaining overall kinematic symmetry. The dominant leg contributed more actively to balance recovery, highlighting its role in stabilizing posture under small perturbations. These findings are specific to the studied demographic and should not be generalized to males, older adults, left-dominant individuals, or clinical populations without further research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Biomechanics: Sports Performance and Rehabilitation)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Applied Biomechanics: Sports Performance and Rehabilitation

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI