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Advances in the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Rehabilitation of Sports Injuries

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Sports Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 December 2025 | Viewed by 2986

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Health Sciences, Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USA
Interests: shoulder; elbow; overhead athlete; manual therapy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will delve into cutting-edge advancements in the prevention, diagnosis, and rehabilitation of sports injuries. Topics will range from innovative injury prevention strategies, like biomechanics and training methodologies, to the latest diagnostic tools, such as imaging techniques and biomarkers. Additionally, this Special Issue will explore novel rehabilitation approaches, including personalized rehabilitation plans and technology-assisted therapies. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of how sports medicine is evolving to enhance athletes' performance, reduce injury occurrence, facilitate quicker and more accurate diagnoses, and optimize rehabilitation outcomes, ultimately promoting long-term athletic health and well-being.

Dr. Kevin Laudner
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • orthopedics
  • prevention
  • rehabilitation
  • management
  • sports injuries

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 670 KiB  
Article
The Myometric Assessment of Achilles Tendon and Soleus Muscle Stiffness before and after a Standardized Exercise Test in Elite Female Volleyball and Handball Athletes—A Quasi-Experimental Study
by Claudia Römer, Julia Czupajllo, Bernd Wolfarth, Freddy Sichting and Kirsten Legerlotz
J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13(11), 3243; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13113243 - 31 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1428
Abstract
Background: The high prevalence of injuries in female athletes necessitates a course of action that not only enhances research in this field but also incorporates improved prevention programs and regular health monitoring of highly stressed structures such as tendons and muscles. Since myometry [...] Read more.
Background: The high prevalence of injuries in female athletes necessitates a course of action that not only enhances research in this field but also incorporates improved prevention programs and regular health monitoring of highly stressed structures such as tendons and muscles. Since myometry is already used by coaches and physiotherapists, it is important to investigate whether tissue stiffness varies in different types of sports, and whether such measures are affected by an acute training session. Methods: Myometric measurements of the Achilles tendon (AT) and soleus muscle (SM) were performed in the longitudinal plane and relaxed tendon position. In total, 38 healthy professional female athletes were examined, applying a quasi-experimental study design, with subgroup analysis performed for different sports. To investigate the stiffness of the AT and SM, 24 female handball and volleyball athletes performed a standardized maximal incremental performance test on a treadmill. In this subgroup, myometric measurements were taken before and after the exercise test. Results: The measurements showed no significant difference between the mean pre- (AT: 661.46 N/m; SM 441.48 N/m) and post-exercise stiffness (AT: 644.71 N/m; SM: 439.07 N/m). Subgroup analysis for different types of sports showed significantly lower AT and SM stiffness in swimming athletes compared to handball (p = 0.002), volleyball (p = 0.000) and hammer throw athletes (p = 0.008). Conclusions: Myometry can be performed on the same day as an acute training session in healthy female professional volleyball and handball athletes. Female swimmers have significantly lower AT and SM stiffness compared to female handball, volleyball and hammer throw athletes. These results show that the stiffness differences in the AT and SM can be assessed by myometry. Full article
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Review

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29 pages, 560 KiB  
Review
Application of Electroencephalography (EEG) in Combat Sports—Review of Findings, Perspectives, and Limitations
by James Chmiel and Jarosław Nadobnik
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(12), 4113; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14124113 - 10 Jun 2025
Viewed by 870
Abstract
Introduction: Combat sport athletes are exposed to repetitive head impacts yet also develop distinct performance-related brain adaptations. Electroencephalography (EEG) provides millisecond-level insight into both processes; however, findings are dispersed across decades of heterogeneous studies. This mechanistic review consolidates and interprets EEG evidence to [...] Read more.
Introduction: Combat sport athletes are exposed to repetitive head impacts yet also develop distinct performance-related brain adaptations. Electroencephalography (EEG) provides millisecond-level insight into both processes; however, findings are dispersed across decades of heterogeneous studies. This mechanistic review consolidates and interprets EEG evidence to elucidate how participation in combat sports shapes brain function and to identify research gaps that impede clinical translation. Methods: A structured search was conducted in March 2025 across PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, and related databases for English-language clinical studies published between January 1980 and March 2025. Eligible studies recorded raw resting or task-related EEG in athletes engaged in boxing, wrestling, judo, karate, taekwondo, kickboxing, or mixed martial arts. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were independently screened by two reviewers. Twenty-three studies, encompassing approximately 650 combat sport athletes and 430 controls, met the inclusion criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis. Results: Early visual EEG and perfusion studies linked prolonged competitive exposure in professional boxers to focal hypoperfusion and low-frequency slowing. More recent quantitative studies refined these findings: across boxing, wrestling, and kickboxing cohorts, chronic participation was associated with reduced alpha and theta power, excess slow-wave activity, and disrupted small-world network topology—alterations that often preceded cognitive or structural impairments. In contrast, elite athletes in karate, fencing, and kickboxing consistently demonstrated neural efficiency patterns, including elevated resting alpha power, reduced task-related event-related desynchronization (ERD), and streamlined cortico-muscular coupling during cognitive and motor tasks. Acute bouts elicited transient increases in frontal–occipital delta and high beta power proportional to head impact count and cortisol elevation, while brief judo chokes triggered short-lived slow-wave bursts without lasting dysfunction. Methodological heterogeneity—including variations in channel count (1 to 64), reference schemes, and frequency band definitions—limited cross-study comparability. Conclusions: EEG effectively captures both the adverse effects of repetitive head trauma and the cortical adaptations associated with high-level combat sport training, underscoring its potential as a rapid, portable tool for brain monitoring. Standardizing acquisition protocols, integrating EEG into longitudinal multimodal studies, and establishing sex- and age-specific normative data are essential for translating these insights into practical applications in concussion management, performance monitoring, and regulatory policy. Full article
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