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Optimizing Training Load for Athletic Performance and Injury Prevention
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Optimizing Training Load for Athletic Performance and Injury Prevention

A special issue of Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology (ISSN 2411-5142). This special issue belongs to the section "Athletic Training and Human Performance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 396

Editor

Dr. José Carlos Ponce-Bordón

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Didactics of Musical, Visual and Bodily Expression, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
Interests: soccer; match analysis; match running performance; training load; monitoring; fatigue

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The primary objective of the conditioning and performance departments of professional teams and athletes is to monitor athletes' workload and fatigue; a process deemed essential to the athlete's training regimen to reduce the risk of injury.

Currently, the integration of technology has enabled workload monitoring during competition and training sessions and has become an essential tool for practitioners. This development has led to enhancements in the training process and the performance of professional athletes.

The significance of monitoring training load lies in the need to understand each athlete's response to the training stimulus and the potential influence this may have on physical performance in competition. Also, the fatigue experienced by the athlete must be considered for the proper optimization of training. The relationship between applied training load, physical performance in competition, fatigue, and injury prevention is very close; therefore, numerous studies have been conducted in recent years to understand these relationships.

This Special Issue, entitled “Optimizing Training Load for Athletic Performance and Injury Prevention,” enhances current knowledge in this specific field. Authors are invited to submit systematic reviews and meta-analyses, original research articles, and innovative case reports that explore training methods, performance assessment, and strategies to reduce the risk of injury in sport.

Dr. José Carlos Ponce-Bordón
Guest Editor

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1800 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

  • team sport
  • training load
  • monitoring
  • fatigue
  • injury
  • rehab
  • internal load
  • external load
  • mental load

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 580 KB  
Article
Inter-Limb Asymmetry and Its Limited Role in Physical Performance and Match Demands in Football Players with Spastic Hemiparesis—An Exploratory Team Study
by Iván Peña-González, Alba Roldán, Bartolomé Leal Barquero, Alejandro Caña-Pino and Manuel Moya-Ramón
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2026, 11(3), 276; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk11030276 (registering DOI) - 17 Jul 2026
Abstract
Background: Inter-limb asymmetry has been widely studied as a potential determinant of physical performance in able-bodied athletes; however, its functional relevance in athletes with neurological impairments such as spastic hemiparesis remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the associations between lower-limb isometric strength, [...] Read more.
Background: Inter-limb asymmetry has been widely studied as a potential determinant of physical performance in able-bodied athletes; however, its functional relevance in athletes with neurological impairments such as spastic hemiparesis remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the associations between lower-limb isometric strength, inter-limb asymmetry, physical performance, and match external-load variables in elite CP football players. Methods: Eleven male football players with spastic hemiparesis from the Spanish national team competing at the 2024 IFCPF World Cup participated in this observational cross-sectional study. Maximal isometric strength of the plantar flexors, adductors, and hamstrings was assessed using a belt-stabilised dynamometer. Inter-limb asymmetry was calculated as a percentage difference between affected and non-affected limbs. Physical performance was evaluated using sprint, change-of-direction, dribbling, and intermittent endurance tests. Match external-load variables were collected during official competition using inertial measurement units. Associations were analysed using Spearman’s rank correlations, and between-group comparisons were conducted using a median split based on asymmetry magnitude. Results: Inter-limb asymmetry did not significantly differentiate physical performance outcomes across any field-based tests (p > 0.05). Associations between isometric strength or asymmetry and field-based performance were limited and did not remain statistically significant after false discovery rate correction. In contrast, plantar flexor asymmetry showed significant negative associations with mechanical work (ρ = −0.84; q = 0.010) and metabolic power (ρ = −0.83; q = 0.010), which remained robust after multiple-comparison control. Conclusions: Inter-limb strength asymmetry did not appear to be a primary determinant of field-based physical performance in CP football players with spastic hemiparesis. Most associations between strength, asymmetry, and performance should be considered exploratory. However, plantar flexor asymmetry showed a consistent association with selected mechanical and metabolic match-load variables, suggesting that neuromuscular asymmetry may influence specific aspects of match demands. Given the exploratory team-study design and limited sample size, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and require confirmation in larger cohorts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Training Load for Athletic Performance and Injury Prevention)
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Review

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54 pages, 1848 KB  
Review
Clarifying Proprioceptive Training: A Narrative Review
by Nourali El Husseini Cardenas, Juan D. Ascuntar Viteri, Juan D. Quintero, Juan Santiago Ospina-Jimenez, Andres F. Rodriguez-Hernandez, Emmanuel Alvarez-Londoño, Jorge M. Velez, Jose A. Gomez Ortiz, Mateo Gomez-Ramirez and Andres Rojas-Jaramillo
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2026, 11(3), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk11030279 (registering DOI) - 18 Jul 2026
Abstract
Proprioception is traditionally defined as the perception of joint position and movement, yet contemporary evidence supports a broader view: a multimodal sensorimotor system integrating peripheral afferent input with central motor commands. Despite its recognised importance in rehabilitation and sport, conceptual and methodological inconsistencies [...] Read more.
Proprioception is traditionally defined as the perception of joint position and movement, yet contemporary evidence supports a broader view: a multimodal sensorimotor system integrating peripheral afferent input with central motor commands. Despite its recognised importance in rehabilitation and sport, conceptual and methodological inconsistencies persist regarding its definition, assessment and training, and interventions labelled proprioceptive are frequently indistinguishable from general neuromuscular or balance-based exercise. This narrative review, reported in accordance with the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA), critically analyses the current state of knowledge on proprioception and clarifies the concept of proprioceptive training. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and SPORTDiscus were searched from January 2000 to May 2025, combining “proprioception”, “kinaesthesia”, “joint position sense” and “force sense” with “definition”, “assessment”, “training” and “rehabilitation”. Sources addressing conceptual foundations, assessment instruments, interventions explicitly labelled proprioceptive, or critical reviews were eligible, with no restriction of body region; studies on balance alone without proprioceptive measurement and non-peer-reviewed material were excluded. Of 1412 records screened, 119 informed the synthesis. Proprioception comprises distinct submodalities—joint position sense, kinaesthesia and force sense—mediated by specific receptors and pathways. Current tools isolate these under artificial conditions with limited ecological validity, and most interventions labelled proprioceptive induce general motor adaptations rather than genuine sensory ones. Submodality-specific operational definitions and ecologically valid assessment tools are required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Training Load for Athletic Performance and Injury Prevention)
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