Search Results (101)

In the present study, 96 teams’ performances across 48 matches in the group stage of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 were analyzed. Teams scoring first won 62.5% of matches (p < 0.05), while goals were evenly distributed between halves (p > 0.05) and showed marginal variation across six 15 min intervals, peaking near the 30–45 and 75–90 min marks. Parametric analyses revealed a significant effect of match outcome on possession, with winning teams exhibiting higher average possession (53.3%) compared to losing and drawing teams. Non-parametric analyses identified significant differences between match outcomes for goals scored, attempts at goal, total and completed passes, pass completion rate, defensive line breaks, receptions in the final third, ball progressions, defensive pressures, and total distance covered. Winning teams scored more goals and registered more attempts on target than losing teams, although some metrics showed no significant difference between wins and draws. Logistic regression analysis identified attempts at goal on target, defensive pressures, total completed passes, total distance covered, and receptions in the final third as significant predictors of match success (AUC = 0.85), correctly classifying 80.2% of match outcomes. These results emphasized the crucial role of offensive accuracy and possession dominance in achieving success in elite football. Full article

Given the high neuromechanical demands and frequent asymmetries in badminton, this study investigated the impact of a four-week asymmetry-targeted intervention on single-leg hop performance in elite junior badminton players and examined whether asymmetry-based indices could predict training responsiveness. Twenty-two national-level athletes (aged 15–18) were randomized into an experimental group (EG) undergoing neuromechanical training with EMG biofeedback or a control group (CG) following general plyometric exercises. Key performance metrics—Jump Height, Reactive Strength Index (RSI), Peak Power, and Active Stiffness—were evaluated pre- and post-intervention. Two novel composite indices, Force Efficiency Ratio (FER) and Asymmetry Impact Index (AII), were computed to assess force production efficiency and asymmetry burden. The EG showed significant improvements in Jump Height (p = 0.030), RSI (p = 0.012), and Peak Power (p = 0.028), while the CG showed no significant changes. Contrary to initial hypotheses, traditional asymmetry metrics showed no significant correlations with performance variables (r < 0.1). Machine learning models (Random Forest) using FER and AII failed to classify responders reliably (AUC = 0.50). The results suggest that targeted interventions can improve lower-limb explosiveness in youth athletes; however, both traditional and composite asymmetry indices may not reliably predict training outcomes in small elite groups. The results highlight the need for multidimensional and individualized approaches in athlete diagnostics and training optimization, especially in asymmetry-prone sports like badminton. Full article

Background and Objectives: Excessive social media use is repeatedly linked to negative body image outcomes, yet its association with muscle dysmorphia, especially in athletic youth, remains underexplored. We investigated how social media exposure, comparison behavior, and platform engagement relate to muscle dysmorphia symptomatology in young German athletes. Materials and Methods: An anonymous, web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted (July–October 2024) of 540 individuals (45% female; mean age = 24.6 ± 5.3 years; 79% ≥ 3 h sport/week) recruited via Instagram. The questionnaire comprised demographics, sport type, detailed social media usage metrics, and the validated German Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder Inventory (MDDI-1, 15 items). Correlations (Spearman’s ρ, Kendall’s τ) were calculated; multivariate importance was probed with classification-and-regression trees and CatBoost gradient boosting, interpreted via SHAP values. Results: Median daily social media time was 76 min (IQR 55–110). Participants who spent ≥ 60 min per day on social media showed higher MDDI scores (mean 38 ± 7 vs. 35 ± 6; p = 0.010). The strongest bivariate link emerged between perceived social media-induced body dissatisfaction and felt pressure to attain a specific body composition (Spearman ρ = 0.748, Kendall τ = 0.672, p < 0.001). A CatBoost gradient-boosting model out-performed linear regression in predicting elevated MDDI. The three most influential features (via SHAP values) were daily social media time, frequency of comparison with fitness influencers, and frequency of “likes”-seeking behavior. Conclusions: Intensive social media exposure substantially heightens muscle dysmorphia risk in young German athletes. Machine-learning interpretation corroborates time on social media and influencer comparisons as primary drivers. Interventions should combine social media literacy training with sport-specific psychoeducation to mitigate maladaptive comparison cycles and prevent downstream eating disorder pathology. Longitudinal research is warranted to clarify causal pathways and to test targeted digital media interventions. Full article

Exercise addiction (EA) is a maladaptive behavior characterized by excessive physical activity, often linked to negative psychological outcomes. This study investigated the relationships between perfectionism, sport commitment, and EA in a sample of 219 Hungarian athletes (M = 22.19 years). Using path analysis, we tested a model hypothesizing that adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism differentially predict enthusiastic and constrained commitment, which in turn influences EA. Our results showed that maladaptive perfectionism positively predicted constrained commitment (β = 0.70) and EA (β = 0.63), while negatively relating to enthusiastic commitment (β = −0.17). Conversely, adaptive perfectionism was positively associated with enthusiastic commitment (β = 0.24) and negatively with constrained commitment (β = −0.12). Moreover, enthusiastic commitment positively predicted EA (β = 0.24). We found a significant indirect effect between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism when controlling for enthusiastic commitment, suggesting its dual role in this context. Our study suggests that enthusiastic commitment serves as a source of exercise addiction (EA) and has a dual role, acting as both a protective factor and a risk factor for it. Additionally, we found that maladaptive perfectionism is associated with higher levels of constrained commitment and EA, while correlating with lower levels of enthusiastic commitment. Conversely, adaptive perfectionism increases enthusiastic commitment and decreases constrained commitment. These findings highlight the associations between motivational and personality factors in EA, indicating that even adaptive traits can contribute to unhealthy exercise patterns in athletic environments. Full article

This study develops two machine learning models to predict the medal performance of countries at the 2028 Olympic Games while systematically analyzing and quantifying the impacts of the host effect and exceptional coaching on medal gains. The dataset encompasses records of total medals by country, event categories, and athletes’ participation from the Olympic Games held between 1896 and 2024. We use K-means clustering to analyze medal trends, categorizing 234 nations into four groups (${\alpha }_1$, ${\alpha }_2$, ${\alpha }_3$, ${\alpha }_4$). Among these, ${\alpha }_1$, ${\alpha }_2$, ${\alpha }_3$ represent medal-winning countries, while ${\alpha }_4$ consists of non-medal-winning nations. For the $\alpha$1, $\alpha$2, and $\alpha$3 groups, 2–3 representative countries from each are selected for trend analysis, with the United States serving as a case study. This study extracts ten factors that may influence medal wins from the dataset, including participant data, the number of events, and medal growth rates. Factor analysis is used to reduce them into three principal components: Factor analysis condenses ten influencing factors into three principal components: the event scale factor (F1), the medal trend factor (F2), and the gender and athletic ability factor (F3). An ARIMA model predicts the factor coefficients for 2028 as 0.9539, 0.7999, and 0.2937, respectively. Four models (random forest, BP Neural Network, XGBoost, and SVM) are employed to predict medal outcomes, using historical data split into training and testing sets to compare their predictive performance. The research results show that XGBoost is the optimal medal predicted model, with the United States projected to win 57 gold medals and a total of 135 medals in 2028. For non-medal-winning countries (${\alpha }_4$), a three-layer fully connected neural network (FCNN) is constructed, achieving an accuracy of 85.5% during testing. Additionally, a formula to calculate the host effect and a Bayesian linear regression model to assess the impact of exceptional coaching on athletes’ medal performance are proposed. The overall trend of countries in the $\alpha$1 group is stable, but they are significantly affected by the host effect; the trend in the $\alpha$2 group shows an upward trend; the trend in the $\alpha$3 group depend on the athletes’ conditions and whether the events they excel in are included in that year’s Olympics. In the $\alpha$4 group, the probabilities of the United Arab Republic (UAR) and Mali (MLI) winning medals in the 2028 Olympic Games are 77.47% and 58.47%, respectively, and there are another four countries with probabilities exceeding 30%. For the eight most recent Olympic Games, the gain rate of the host effect is 74%. Great coaches can bring an average increase of 0.2 to 0.5 medals for each athlete. The proposed models, through an innovative integration of clustering, dimensionality reduction, and predictive algorithms, provide reliable forecasts and data-driven insights for optimizing national sports strategies. These contributions not only address the gap in predicting first-time medal wins for non-medal-winning nations but also offer guidance for policymakers and sports organizations, though they are constrained by assumptions of stable historical trends, minimal external disruptions, and the exclusion of unknown athletes. Full article

Suicide in children is a major global health crisis, with profound impacts on families, friends, and society. Understanding ways to ameliorate the rate of suicide attempt (SA) is critical given that it is a key factor in predicting future suicide risk. SA is the deliberate act of causing physical injury to oneself with the intent of death. The incidence of SA may be influenced by physical activity (PA). PA includes bodily movement via skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure and physical fitness. While there is evidence to suggest that PA improves dysregulation of the parasympathetic nervous system which underpins the physiology of suicidal behaviour, evaluating the impact of PA on SA in children is required. Objectives: This systematic review aims to determine the relationship between PA and SA in children to inform alternative preventative and interventional strategies. Methods: This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO: CRD42023389415. Eight electronic databases were systematically searched. References were transferred to Covidence software for title and abstract screening and full text review were performed based on eligibility criteria: (1) children aged 6–18 years old; (2) participated in PA (individual, group exercise, or team sports); and (3) examined SA as a dependent variable. The JBI Checklist was used to measure the quality and level of bias of included studies. Results: Of the 2322 studies identified, 21 were included in the final analysis of the review. Twenty studies were cross-sectional in design, and one implemented a prospective study design. Thirteen studies (61.9%) yielded statistically significant results, indicating that increased PA, particularly team sport, may be associated with reduced odds of SA. There was some evidence to suggest that certain intensities and frequencies of PA may be beneficial to some and detrimental to other subgroups. Conclusions: The results suggest that PA may reduce the risk of suicide attempts. Although PA may be associated with reduced SA in children, future research is required, which (1) uses standardised outcome variables; (2) adopts longitudinal and experimental study designs; (3) explores qualitative research to determine distinctive factors that influence participation in PA not captured by quantitative research; and (4) examines different target populations such as children with a broad range of mental health issues. Full article

Background/Objectives: Body stability plays a decisive role in archery, particularly during the aiming phase. A systematic review was conducted, in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, to critically examine the existing evidence on the association between body stability parameters and shooting performance. Methods: A comprehensive search of the MEDLINE Complete, CINAHL Complete, SportDiscus, and Cochrane Reviews databases was performed. Studies published until 12 July 2024 were considered. Results: Sixteen articles were selected, and we analyzed the following biomechanical parameters related to body stability: center of pressure displacement, velocity, and ellipse area; bow sway; and sway of markers placed on the head, sternum, and pelvis. The findings consistently showed that reduced center of pressure displacement and velocity, along with smaller center of pressure ellipse area, were associated with superior shooting outcomes. Although studies are scarce, data suggest that lower bow sway is associated with better shooting performance. The scarcity of research on the sway of markers placed in anatomical points does not allow for conclusions about their effectiveness as performance predictors. Despite its relevance, no studies have assessed the center of gravity data. Therefore, further research is needed to address this important point. Conclusions: Although studies have examined several parameters, the literature remains inconclusive regarding which of these parameters best predicts shooting quality. Full article

This review aims to provide a comprehensive framework for implementing precision sports medicine, integrating genetics, pharmacogenomics, digital health solutions, and multi-omics data. Literature review was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases (January 2018–April 2024), focusing on precision medicine applications in sports medicine, utilizing key terms including “precision medicine”, “sports medicine”, “genetics”, and “multi-omics”, with forward and backward citation tracking. The review identified key gene variants affecting athletic performance: endurance (AMPD1, PPARGC1A), power (ACTN3, NOS3), strength (PPARG), and injury susceptibility (COL5A1, MMP3), while also examining inherited conditions like cardiomyopathies (MYH7, MYBPC3). Pharmacogenomic guidelines were established for optimizing common sports medications, including NSAIDs (CYP2C9), opioids (CYP2D6), and cardiovascular drugs (SLCO1B1, CYP2C19). Digital health technologies, including wearables and predictive analytics, showed potential for enhanced athlete monitoring and injury prevention, while multi-omics approaches integrated various molecular data to understand exercise capacity and injury predisposition, enabling personalized assessments, training regimens, and therapeutic interventions based on individual biomolecular profiles. This review provides sports medicine professionals with a framework to deliver personalized care tailored to each athlete’s unique profile, promising optimized performance, reduced injury risks, and improved recovery outcomes. Full article

Data science has become an essential component in professional sports, particularly for predicting team performance and outcomes. This study aims to develop and evaluate machine learning models that accurately predict game outcomes in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). Method: A total of 859 games from the 2021 to 2023 regular seasons were analyzed, using both traditional baseball statistics and advanced sabermetric indicators such as the Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+), Weighted Runs Above Average (wRAA), and Percentage of Leadoff Batters on Base (PLOB%). Five machine learning models—decision tree, logistic regression, Neural Network, Random Forest, and XGBoost—were constructed and assessed through a five-fold cross-validation. Evaluation metrics included accuracy, F1 scores, sensitivity, specificity, and the AUC-ROC. Results: Among the models, logistic regression and XGBoost achieved the highest performance, with an accuracy ranging from 0.89 to 0.93 and an AUC-ROC from 0.97 to 0.98. The feature importance and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis revealed that the wRC+ and PLOB% were the most influential predictors, reflecting the offensive efficiency and pitching control. Conclusion: The results suggest that combining interpretable machine learning with sabermetrics provides valuable insights for coaches and analysts in professional baseball. Furthermore, incorporating performance weighting based on game context may further enhance model accuracy. This research demonstrates the potential of data-driven strategies in sports analytics and decision-making. Full article

Background: Hallux rigidus (HR) is a common forefoot disorder, and surgical treatment is typically guided by the severity of the condition, as defined by the Coughlin and Shurnas four-grade classification. This study aimed to compare clinical and functional outcomes in patients undergoing first metatarsophalangeal joint arthrodesis (FMTPJA) with or without the use of an interfragmentary (IF) screw in addition to a dorsal plate. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated a cohort of patients who underwent surgery with a FMTPJA, dividing patients in two groups: patients who underwent FMTPJA through dorsal plate associated with an interfragmentary screw (WIS group) and patients who underwent FMTPJA through dorsal plate without an interfragmentary screw (WOIS group). The primary outcomes were analyzed using the FAAM score and FAAM sport score. Secondary outcomes included VAS, patient satisfaction, recovery time to return to sports, and the level of postoperative sports activity compared to preoperative levels. Results: In paired analyses, the WOIS group showed statistically significant improvements in both the FAAM and FAAM sport scores (p = 0.01). In contrast, the WIS group showed significant improvement only in the FAAM sport score (p = 0.01), while the FAAM score did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.42). Multivariate analysis revealed that a higher preoperative FAAM score predicted a higher postoperative FAAM score (p = 0.75), while the use of an IF screw was associated with a lower expected postoperative FAAM score (p = 0.25). Increased BMI and older age were significantly associated with lower postoperative FAAM scores. Conclusions: Both surgical techniques led to significant clinical improvements. However, patients in the WOIS group showed a trend toward faster recovery and higher postoperative sports activity levels, particularly in the athletic population. Although no statistically significant differences were found between groups overall, these findings suggest potential benefits of avoiding an IF screw in selected patients. Further prospective studies are warranted to better delineate the clinical impact of screw usage in FMTPJA. Full article

This study examines the applicability of the well-established PageRank algorithm for ranking teams and predicting outcomes in incomplete, single-elimination high school baseball tournaments. Using match data from Taiwan’s CTBC Black Panther Cup National High School Baseball Tournament spanning from 2013 to 2023, this research investigates whether PageRank can produce valid, stable, and predictive rankings under structural constraints and limited data environments. Three empirical evaluations were conducted. First, a comparative analysis between PageRank rankings and official results demonstrated high ordinal consistency, with Kendall’s tau values exceeding 0.70 in most seasons. Second, PageRank rankings were assessed for temporal robustness, demonstrating stable performance across seasons and under varying data inputs. Third, a series of n-step-ahead simulations were implemented to test the predictive validity of PageRank. The results indicate that incorporating historical data substantially improves forecasting accuracy, achieving up to 92.9% when data from up to four previous seasons are included. Overall, the findings support PageRank as a consistent and interpretable ranking method that is well-suited for grassroots sports. Its ability to incorporate indirect competition and opponent strength makes it effective in settings with sparse or unbalanced schedules. This study provides methodological insights and practical implications for ranking and evaluation in school-level sports. Full article

Cricket is a dynamic sport, making the selection of key performance indicators (KPIs) challenging. Objective: The study aims to identify KPIs in Twenty-20 (T20) cricket affecting match outcomes. Methods: Cricket performance data was analysed from three seasons of male T20 matches, identifying 136 performance indicators (PIs). The random forest algorithm and lasso logistic regression were used to develop a model to predict match outcomes. Results: The hybrid model achieved 85.9% accuracy with leave-one-out cross-validation statistical analyses. Sixteen KPIs were identified and ranked by importance including wickets lost in the last six overs, two or more wickets in the second innings, run rate in the last six overs, wickets by seam and spin bowling, batting strike rate, singles percentage in the second innings, sixes in the first innings, overs bowled by seam, runs in last six overs, sixes in middle overs, total catches in second innings, dot ball percentage, opening partnership runs, dot balls in the opening six, and singles in the last six. Conclusions: Cricket match performance in the final overs, especially bowling strike rate and scoring runs, were crucial for successful match outcomes. These KPIs offer insights into team strategy, player selection, and match performance evaluation in T20 cricket. Full article

Psychological distress and musculoskeletal pain are interconnected with poor functional outcomes. This study sought to classify common phenotypes of psychological distress in an orthopaedic sports population and assess differences in functional outcomes using the Prediction of Referral and Outcome (OSPRO-YF) tool. This was a cross-sectional study on 411 operative patients from a single sports surgeon’s clinical practice with completed OSPRO-YF questionnaires. Latent class analysis was employed to construct distress phenotypes based on binary measures for 11 single-construct psychological questionnaires, spanning two negative and one positive domains of pain-associated psychological distress. Functional outcome measures, including numerical pain scores, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), the Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Score (ASES), and the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form (IKDC), were compared. Four psychological distress clusters were derived: low distress (LD-1; n = 111), low self-efficacy (LS-2; n = 101), negative pain coping, low self-efficacy (NP-3; n = 99), and high distress (HD-4; n = 100), with increasing yellow flags proceeding from LD-1 to HD-4. The mean numerical pain scores were highest in HD-4 and lowest in LD-1 and LS-2 (4.6 vs. 2.7 and 2.0, respectively; p < 0.001). The PROMIS depression scores were highest in HD-4 compared to NP-3, LS-2, and LD-1 (57.0 vs. 48.9 vs. 45.6 vs. 46.0; p < 0.001). Phenotyping patients based on OSPRO-YF distress indicators provides an initial framework of the psychological distress burdening the average orthopaedic sports surgical patient population and may aid in targeted psychological treatments. Full article

This study examined the use of linear regression models for predicting the outcomes of a six-week velocity-based training (VBT) intervention in female floorball players. The intervention was integrated into regular training and consisted of brief 30-min sessions focused on back squats and trap bar deadlifts. Key performance metrics included neuromuscular adaptation, sprint speed, jump performance, stop-and-go (SAG) performance, and load-velocity profiles. Seventeen participants completed 12 training sessions, a strength block set (Sessions 1–6) and a power block set (Sessions 7–12). The predictive models explained 54% to 79% ($R^2$ = 0.54–0.79) of the performance improvement in the strength-related tests. Significant gains were observed in neuromuscular metrics, including estimated one-repetition maximum (1${\mathrm{RM}}_{est}$) and average mean concentric velocity for both exercises. These findings underscore the predictive potential of VBT in enhancing strength and power while highlighting the need to integrate task-specific exercises to optimize sport-specific performance. This study provides valuable insights for tailoring VBT strategies for female athletes in high-demand team sports such as floorball. Full article

(1) Background: Pain experiences are shaped by both physical injury and psychological distress, posing challenges for orthopedic care. While surgery may alleviate injury-related distress, the extent of psychological improvement post surgery remains unclear. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in general and pain-specific psychological distress after surgical intervention for musculoskeletal injury. (2) Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on 133 patients who underwent musculoskeletal surgery between February 2020 and August 2022 by a single sports medicine fellowship-trained surgeon. Psychological distress was assessed using the Optimal Screening for Prediction of Referral and Outcome Yellow-Flag (OSPRO-YF) tool, both before and at least six months after surgery. Pre- and postoperative scores were compared using paired t-tests, and clinically meaningful changes were evaluated using a distribution-based minimal clinically important difference (MCID) threshold. (3) Results: Significant reductions were found in total OSPRO-YF scores and several subdomains including fear avoidance (physical activity and work), kinesiophobia, and pain anxiety. However, 88% of patients showed no meaningful change in overall psychological distress. In patients with high baseline distress, over 20% showed meaningful improvement in six subdomains. (4) Conclusions: Psychological distress often persists after musculoskeletal surgery. Targeted psychological interventions may benefit patients with high preoperative distress. Full article