Angelo V Vasiliadis, George Noussios, Aikaterini Vassiou, Theodore Troupis
{"title":"The three musketeers of the runner's calf: gastrocnemius, soleus and plantaris muscle.","authors":"Angelo V Vasiliadis, George Noussios, Aikaterini Vassiou, Theodore Troupis","doi":"10.23736/S0022-4707.25.17635-4","DOIUrl":"10.23736/S0022-4707.25.17635-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17013,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness","volume":" ","pages":"678-679"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146010815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sport specialization, injury and illness: a prospective study of elite female adolescent soccer players.","authors":"Andrew Watson, Kristin Haraldsdottir","doi":"10.23736/S0022-4707.25.17535-X","DOIUrl":"10.23736/S0022-4707.25.17535-X","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although cross-sectional evidence exists regarding the association between sport specialization and health outcomes, sport-specific, prospective research is lacking. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between sport specialization status and in-season injury and illness risk in elite female adolescent soccer players.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>80 female youth soccer players (ages 13-18) from a local youth soccer organization underwent preseason evaluation of maximal aerobic capacity (VO<inf>2max</inf>) and sport specialization and provided self-reporting of daily training load (session-rating of perceived exertion), injury and illness for two four-month competitive soccer seasons. Mixed effects logistic regression models were used to predict individual injury and illness (yes/no) during the study period, using sport specialization, age, and training load as fixed effects and individual athlete as a random effect.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Specialized (N.=46) athletes did not differ from non-specialized (N.=34) athletes with respect to age, preseason physical activity, VO<inf>2max</inf> or in-season training load (all P>0.05). 28 athletes participated in both years, representing 108 player-years. No differences were seen in the proportion of individuals from each group that reported an in-season injury (specialized = 25% vs. 20%, P=0.55) or illness (46% vs. 38%, P=0.41). After adjusting for age and training load, individual injuries (OR=0.86 [0.26, 2.8], P=0.81) and illnesses were not significantly predicted by specialization (OR=1.06 [0.45, 2.5], P=0.89).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>After adjusting for age and training load, late sport specialization was not associated with in-season injury or illness risk in elite female soccer players.</p>","PeriodicalId":17013,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness","volume":" ","pages":"642-649"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146018940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Attila Gaspar, Balazs Huth, Bence Kopper, Zsolt Murlasits
{"title":"Acute bench press performance responses to two inter-set rest periods in recreationally trained men and women.","authors":"Attila Gaspar, Balazs Huth, Bence Kopper, Zsolt Murlasits","doi":"10.23736/S0022-4707.25.17392-1","DOIUrl":"10.23736/S0022-4707.25.17392-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In resistance training, inter-set rest defines training stress and influences fatigue, muscle recovery and the sustainability of force output in subsequent sets. Therefore, this investigation compared acute performance responses and kinematic and kinetic measures between men and women in the bench press exercise with two different rest intervals.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty-two recreationally trained men and women (age 24.6±2.3 years, height 170.6±7.5 cm, body mass 71.9±11.3 kg) were assigned four sets of 8 repetitions in the bench press exercise with 75% of one-repetition maximum with one- and two minutes of rest between sets in a randomized, cross-over design study. During the exercise, we used a linear position transducer for kinetic and kinematic data acquisition. A 2x4 Chi-square (contingency table) and 2x4 Mixed (between-within) ANOVA were used for statistical comparison with a significance level of P<0.05 to determine differences in the datasets.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Men and women performed different number of repetitions for the one-minute rest period (Chi-square = 13.43572, P=0.003784). Significant interactions were detected in the mechanical work performed for both rest periods (P=0.000026 and P=0.27275 for one-min and two-min), indicating a dissimilar trend in men and women across the sets. While average power declined significantly in both sexes as the sets progressed (P=0.000002 and P=0.000000 for one-min and two-min rest respectively), women were better in maintaining power output both in the one-min (P=0.000056) and the two-min (P=0.013725) conditions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Compared to males, female trainees are better in maintaining acute bench press performance over multiple sets in a typical hypertrophy workout session.</p>","PeriodicalId":17013,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness","volume":" ","pages":"624-630"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146227141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparison of thoracic spine range of motion in different types of sports and relationship to low back pain.","authors":"Takuya Kasamasu, Yuko Ishida, Takahiro Hayami, Riho Uematsu, Junzo Fujitani, Yasuyoshi Mase, Koichi Sairyo","doi":"10.23736/S0022-4707.25.17480-X","DOIUrl":"10.23736/S0022-4707.25.17480-X","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Reduced hip joint mobility increases lumbar spine stress, leading to disorders. However, the impact of thoracic spine mobility on lumbar spine disorders remains unclear, as do sport-specific differences in thoracic mobility.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants were male athletes aged ≥18 years (26 baseball, 50 rugby, 20 handball, 33 gymnastics). Thoracic spine flexion, extension, and total ROM were measured using a Spinal Mouse, and rotation ROM using an inclinometer. Study 1 examined thoracic ROM differences among sports. Study 2 classified rugby players and gymnasts based on presence or absence of low back pain (LBP) in the past 6 months and compared thoracic ROM.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In Study 1, thoracic flexion ROM was lower in handball than in baseball and rugby. Thoracic extension ROM was greatest in gymnastics. Total thoracic ROM was lowest in handball and highest in gymnastics. Thoracic rotation was greater in baseball than rugby or handball on both sides. In gymnastics, dominant-side rotation was greater than rugby, and non-dominant-side rotation was greater than rugby and handball. In Study 2, rugby players with LBP had reduced thoracic flexion ROM, while gymnasts with LBP had reduced total thoracic ROM.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study found that thoracic spine ROM differs by sport and is decreased in athletes with LBP, suggesting thoracic ROM is important for treating LBP in athletes.</p>","PeriodicalId":17013,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness","volume":" ","pages":"650-657"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146010848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Data reporting inconsistencies and methodological weaknesses found in \"Evaluation of the effects of a technical sock on sleep dynamics\".","authors":"Dale Kientopf, Manuel Hermann","doi":"10.23736/S0022-4707.26.17857-8","DOIUrl":"10.23736/S0022-4707.26.17857-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17013,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness","volume":" ","pages":"679-680"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146227119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Afonso M Reis, António S Barros, Pedro S Poças, Manuel Gutierres
{"title":"Jumper's knee risk in elite volleyball: impact of training volume, sex, and position.","authors":"Afonso M Reis, António S Barros, Pedro S Poças, Manuel Gutierres","doi":"10.23736/S0022-4707.26.17195-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.26.17195-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Jumper's knee, also known as patellar tendinopathy, is a common overuse injury among athletes involved in sports that require repetitive jumping and high-impact activities, such as volleyball. Understanding the risk factors contributing to this injury is essential for implementing effective prevention strategies. The aim of this study was to clinically and ultrasonographically evaluate the patellar tendons of senior volleyball players at national division one in Portugal (>18 years old) and investigate the relationship between weekly training volume (in hours), sex and players' positions, and the risk of developing jumper's knee.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The diagnosis of jumper's knee was clinically determined using a pain questionnaire and confirmed via imaging through ultrasonography of the athletes' knees. Both tendons of total of 78 athletes were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The analysis revealed that the odds ratio for weekly training volume was 1.37 (P<0.001), indicating a significant positive relationship between training hours and the risk of developing the injury. Male athletes were significantly more likely to develop jumper's knee compared to females, with an odds ratio of 4.41 (P=0.003). Regarding player positions, attackers had an odds ratio of 6.18 (P=0.095), and setters had an odds ratio of 5.81 (P=0.14), both compared to liberos. Although the effects of positions were positive, they did not reach statistical significance.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The results demonstrate that male athletes and those engaging in higher weekly training volumes are at greater risk of developing jumper's knee. While positions involving greater jumping volume and explosive effort showed a higher odds ratio, these findings did not achieve statistical significance.</p>","PeriodicalId":17013,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147723158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lucrezia Trani, Andrea Fontana, Anna G Greco, Federico Egidi, Marco Cacioppo, Lucia Sideli
{"title":"Doping prevention in adolescence: findings from a chat-bot assisted educational program for high school students.","authors":"Lucrezia Trani, Andrea Fontana, Anna G Greco, Federico Egidi, Marco Cacioppo, Lucia Sideli","doi":"10.23736/S0022-4707.26.17642-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.26.17642-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Doping is a widespread issue in both professional and amateur sports, affecting athletes of all ages and across different competitive levels. Literature suggests that one in three adolescents who practice sports considers the use of anabolic steroids to achieve a rapid increase in muscle mass. Recently, text-based messaging facilitated by human coaches or an artificial agent (Chatbot) has been increasingly adopted as web-based preventive interventions. This study aimed to describe a chatbot-assisted educational program (the LUDO Project) for adolescents.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Overall, 176 adolescents (aged 13-19 years), were recruited from schools across Italy. Half of the participants (N.=90) had access to the LUDO chatbot for two months to enhance their knowledge of doping, while the remaining (N.=86) received only informational contents without interactive engagement with the chatbot. An 18-item multiple-choice questionnaire was used to evaluate the impact of chatbot use on students' knowledge of substances, health-related risks, and physical, psychological, and legal consequences of doping behaviors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Between-group comparison revealed significant differences in doping knowledge between LUDO users and non-users. Further regression analysis elucidated that, on average, LUDO users scored 4 points higher on doping knowledge compared to non-users, a result that remained robust after adjusting for sex, age, and sport practice.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Findings supported the efficacy of the LUDO chatbot in enhancing adolescents' comprehension of doping risks, thereby underscoring the utility of digital interventions in educational contexts. Research should evaluate the long-term sustainability of these results and explore the applicability of digital tools in diverse settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":17013,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147690614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lucia Imperiali, Sara Bizzozero, Francesco Magenes, Antonio LA Torre, Marcello F Iaia, Roberto Codella, Stefano Borghi
{"title":"The 30-15 intermittent fitness test in young elite male soccer players: evaluating aerobic performance in relation to maturity offset.","authors":"Lucia Imperiali, Sara Bizzozero, Francesco Magenes, Antonio LA Torre, Marcello F Iaia, Roberto Codella, Stefano Borghi","doi":"10.23736/S0022-4707.26.17778-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.26.17778-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The developmental trajectory of young elite soccer players is influenced by maturation and physiological parameters. This study examined age-based differences in maturation, physical performance, and positional variations among young elite male soccer players using the 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test (30-15 IFT) among 113 elite male players aged 11-17.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Assessments included peak height velocity (PHV), maturity offset, maximum running speed from the 30-15 IFT (MRS30-15IFT), and maximal oxygen uptake (VO<inf>2</inf>max). Age-related and positional differences were analyzed to identify significant variations across categories.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Significant age-related differences were observed in maturation and performance parameters. U16 and U17 players differed in PHV (P=0.009), while maturity offset varied significantly across most categories except between U16 and U17. Aerobic performance, measured via MRS30-15IFT and VO<inf>2</inf>max, improved progressively with age; U12 players showed lower values than older groups (P<0.05). Strong correlations emerged between VO<inf>2</inf>max and maturity offset (r=0.73, P<0.001) and between MRS30-15IFT and maturity offset (r=0.73, P<0.001). Positional analysis revealed that central backs had lower PHV than midfielders and wingers in U12-U14 (P<0.015), while wingers showed higher VO<inf>2</inf>max than strikers in U15-U17 (P=0.042).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Maturation and physiological performance parameters vary significantly across age categories in elite young soccer players. Position-specific differences in growth and aerobic capacity emphasize the importance of individualized training approaches to optimize development and performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":17013,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147592834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Giulia Bongiorno, Gaia Sartori, Francesca Poles, Arianna Michelutti, Helena Biancuzzi, Francesca Dal Mas, Dario Filiputti, Luca Miceli
{"title":"Use of smart socks to identify different skating styles in professional inline speed skate athletes.","authors":"Giulia Bongiorno, Gaia Sartori, Francesca Poles, Arianna Michelutti, Helena Biancuzzi, Francesca Dal Mas, Dario Filiputti, Luca Miceli","doi":"10.23736/S0022-4707.26.17676-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.26.17676-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17013,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147592821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Francesco Gongolo, Livia Aita, Stefano DE Carli, Gianluigi Moise, Lucio Mos, Cristiano Pesavento, Irena Tavčar
{"title":"Multidisciplinary oversight in sports eligibility: a medico-legal perspective from a regional appeal commission in Italy.","authors":"Francesco Gongolo, Livia Aita, Stefano DE Carli, Gianluigi Moise, Lucio Mos, Cristiano Pesavento, Irena Tavčar","doi":"10.23736/S0022-4707.26.18003-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.26.18003-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17013,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147592877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}