Sports Medicine - Open最新文献

{"title":"Exploration of Exercise-Induced Gastrointestinal Syndrome in Endurance-Trained Adolescents: Is There Cause for Concern in Regard to Ultra-endurance Event Participation.","authors":"Pascale Young, Volker Scheer, Zoe Davidson, Jessica R Biesiekierski, Ricardo J S Costa","doi":"10.1186/s40798-026-01061-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40798-026-01061-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Exercise-induced gastrointestinal syndrome (EIGS) in response to prolonged exercise is well-established in adult athletes but no study has investigated how EIGS presents in adolescent athletes despite an increase in youth participation in ultramarathon events. This study aimed to determine the impact of prolonged exercise on gastrointestinal integrity, functional responses, systemic immune profile, and gastrointestinal symptoms (GIS) in youth (YOUTH) vs adult (ADULTS) athletes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twelve youth (≤ 18y) and twelve adults (≥ 30-50y) completed 3 h treadmill running at 60% V̇O_2max (22.9˚C ambient temperature), followed by 2 h seated recovery. Venous and finger-prick blood samples were collected pre-, during-, post-exercise, and during recovery to determine leukocyte counts, plasma concentrations of cortisol, E.coli lipopolysaccharide-stimulated elastase, I-FABP, sCD14, TNF-α and IL-10. Functional gastrointestinal response [i.e., orocecal transit time (OCTT)], GIS [via modified visual analogue scale (mVAS) quantifying self-reported GIS], feeding tolerance and physiological strain variables were assessed pre-, during-, and in recovery from exercise.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There was no difference in pre-to-post-exercise concentrations of plasma cortisol, elastase, I-FABP, sCD14, TNF-α, or IL-10 between YOUTH and ADULTS (p > 0.05). YOUTH had higher total leukocyte and neutrophil counts (p < 0.05) in response to exercise [mean (95% CI) 13.1 (10.6 to 15.5) × 10⁹/L, and 8.9 (7.0 to 10.8) × 10⁹/L, respectively] vs ADULTS [9.4 (7.6 to 11.2) × 10⁹/L, and 6.4 (5.0 to 7.7) × 10⁹/L, respectively]. ADULTS reported higher (p = 0.024) upper-GIS severity during exercise [summative accumulation (range of GIS): 252 (6-67)] compared with YOUTH [96 (4-19)]. No other differences were observed in exercise-associated gastrointestinal symptoms (Ex-GIS) or OCTT between groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The pathways of EIGS in response to exercise do not substantially differ in youth vs adult athletes. Therefore, EIGS and Ex-GIS management strategies for adult athletes are likely transferable to youth athletes. Further studies investigating the use of these specific strategies in youth athletes are required to confirm this.</p>","PeriodicalId":21788,"journal":{"name":"Sports Medicine - Open","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13346402/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148405572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Injury Incidence Before and After the Introduction of Body Checking in Elite Women's Ice Hockey: A Six-Season Nationwide Insurance-Based Study.","authors":"Amanda Lahti, Emelie Stenman, Anton Grundberg, Kristina Sundquist","doi":"10.1186/s40798-026-01063-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40798-026-01063-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In 2022, the Swedish Women's Elite Ice Hockey League (SDHL) became the first women's league to introduce bodychecking. Using insurance data, this study examined injury incidence before and after the implementation of this rule.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Since 2019, the SDHL has comprised 10 teams with 20-25 players on each. All players in SDHL have license insurance to take care of ice hockey injuries. All injuries that lead to contact with the insurance company are registered in a database. The insurance covers accidental injuries occurring during matches, organized team practices, hockey school sessions, and direct travel to and from these activities. Injury data from all seasons between 2019-2020 and 2024-2025 were analyzed. Injury rates (IR) per 1,000 player-game hours were calculated and compared across seasons and between pre-implementation (2019-2022) and post-implementation (2022-2025) periods.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 120 injuries were recorded among 92 players. IR per 1,000 player-game hours increased from 6.6 (95% CI 3.8-10.7) in season 2021-2022 to 16.7 (11.6-23.2) in 2022-2023, with moderately elevated rates remaining in subsequent seasons. When grouped by period before and after body checking implementation, IR increased from 6.0 (4.4-8.1) pre-implementation to 11.0 (8.6-13.7) post-implementation (p < 0.05). The injury incidence was highest during the first season with body checking and declined in subsequent seasons compared with this initial post-implementation peak.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The introduction of body checking in the SDHL was associated with a significant increase in injuries recorded through the insurance system, indicating that this rule change may lead to a higher injury burden. More research on this topic is needed if body checking is to be widely incorporated into women's ice hockey.</p>","PeriodicalId":21788,"journal":{"name":"Sports Medicine - Open","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13332905/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148387847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exercise Training in the Fasted State During the Month of Ramadan: Acutely Ergolytic but Possibly Chronically Ergogenic? A Narrative Review with Systematic Search and Methodological Quality Assessment.","authors":"Jacky Hou An Ong, Khaled Trabelsi, Achraf Ammar, Jad Adrian Washif, Marcus J C Lee, Cheong Hwa Ooi, Karim Chamari, Ahmad Munir Che Muhamed, Mohammed Ihsan, Abdul Rashid Aziz","doi":"10.1186/s40798-026-01044-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40798-026-01044-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Daytime acute exercise in the Ramadan-fasted state (without consuming food nor fluids before and during exercise) can lead to exacerbated physiological responses and poorer performance in fasting individuals. Consequently, chronic training adaptations under these conditions are often expected to be suboptimal compared with the same training sessions performed in the fed state.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This narrative review (supported by a systematic search for Ramadan training-adaptation studies and methodological quality assessment), in contrast, examines whether chronic training in the Ramadan-fasted state may preserve, impair, or in selected contexts possibly augment training-induced adaptations. This premise is informed by adjacent evidence indicating that training in the fasted state has been associated with enhanced training-induced adaptations via greater activation of mitochondrial biogenesis and resulting in higher levels of metabolic enzymes for glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, and overall metabolic capacity (in non-Ramadan fasted or carbohydrate-restricted models). Similarly, evidence from adjacent non-Ramadan models suggests that training in a permissive (mild) dehydrated state vis-à-vis Ramadan fasting may promote positive adaptations via enhanced plasma volume expansion and greater thermoregulatory-physiological response during exercise. The systematic search identified 10 eligible studies, of which six were rated as strong methodological quality and four as moderate quality. Based on these studies, the proposed efficacy of Ramadan-fasted training-induced adaptations remains speculative, although Ramadan-specific studies have reported either improved or preserved training-induced performance outcomes within Ramadan-fasted groups. Compared to non-fasted and fed-state training, there appears to be some support for greater aerobic adaptation in Ramadan-fasted training specifically for middle distance running and running capacity assessed via time-to-exhaustion.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In summary, we postulate that training sessions performed in the Ramadan-fasted state, while acutely ergolytic, may not necessarily blunt chronic adaptation when training load, recovery opportunity, and post-exercise nutrition and hydration are well managed. However, the available evidence is limited, heterogeneous, and methodologically constrained. Therefore, Ramadan-fasted training should not be considered generally superior to fed-state training; rather, its potential additional adaptive stimulus remains plausible mainly for selected aerobic outcomes and requires confirmation through well-controlled Ramadan-specific studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":21788,"journal":{"name":"Sports Medicine - Open","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13332931/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148387844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Short PR Interval in 1310 Children and Adolescent Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study.","authors":"Klara Komici, Antonio Dello Iacono, Luigi Aversa, Grazia Daniela Femminella, Giuseppe Rengo, Germano Guerra","doi":"10.1186/s40798-026-01057-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40798-026-01057-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Children and adolescents represent a challenging population due to their incomplete physical development, and lack of specific criteria for interpreting electrocardiography (ECG) in children and adolescent athletes. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical significance of short PR interval in pediatric and adolescent athletes undergoing pre-participation cardiac screening.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a cross-sectional study, where a total of 1310 athletes (age range: 7-18 years) underwent a comprehensive screening including medical history, physical examination, 12-lead ECG, echocardiography, and exercise testing under stress at Exercise and Sports Medicine Unit, University of Molise, Campobasso Italy between January 2023 and June 2024. Short PR interval prevalence and clinical significance were evaluated by frequency analysis and association with cardiac symptoms, respectively.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Short PR interval (< 120 ms) was present in 26.9% of athletes, while using a z-score threshold of - 2 as the age- and sex-adjusted lower limit of normal, 3.82% of the athletes met criteria for a short PR interval. No significant associations were found between short PR interval and cardiac symptoms: syncope, palpitations, chest pain, exercise-induced arrhythmias, or need for additional diagnostic testing beyond standard screening (p > 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Isolated short PR interval was not associated with adverse cardiac findings among children and adolescent athletes following pre-participation screening, supporting its interpretation as a benign age-dependent variant. However, long-term outcome data are needed to confirm these observations.</p>","PeriodicalId":21788,"journal":{"name":"Sports Medicine - Open","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13323764/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148362198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recovery Strategies in Elite-Level Male Rugby Union Players and Positional Considerations: A Scoping Review.","authors":"Adam Grainger, Robert Allan, Giampiero Tarantino","doi":"10.1186/s40798-026-01056-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40798-026-01056-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rugby union training and competition results in task-specific fatigue. As a result, practitioners working in elite rugby settings must identify and understand the position-specific demands placed upon players. Aligning appropriate recovery strategies is essential to optimise performance. Therefore, the primary aim of this scoping review is to explore current fatigue and recovery strategies in elite rugby players and investigate any specific strategies used to enhance recovery. The secondary aim of this scoping review is to discuss potential positional differences in relation to recovery strategies and fatigue markers. Thirty-seven articles were included in this scoping review, with results identifying a diversity in the recovery approaches taken, with cold water immersion the most commonly used, compression garments, partial and whole-body cryotherapy, electrostimulation, nutritional supplements (fish oil), pool-based active recovery, and innovative mattresses also utilised. The findings align with previous research showing that many recovery strategies have limited empirical support; however, an interesting finding from our review was that 26 studies included no specific recovery intervention (natural recovery) within their research methodology. Only five studies reported positional data results, meaning it is difficult to appropriately compare position-specific recovery or quantify the effectiveness of specific recovery strategies. Thus, this scoping review serves as a \"call to arms\" to the rugby union research community to identify position-specific data in future studies and then integrate positional specificity and individualised athlete needs to enhance recovery. Given the limited evidence that this scoping review has provided, there is a need to further explore the position-specific recovery strategies in future studies to assess their potential impact on performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":21788,"journal":{"name":"Sports Medicine - Open","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13323469/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148362203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Machine Learning-Based Prediction of Track Sprint Cycling Performance in Elite-Level Male Cyclists: A Multinational Cross-Sectional Analysis.","authors":"Taenam Kim, Seung-Bo Park","doi":"10.1186/s40798-026-01058-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40798-026-01058-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Traditional linear approaches may not adequately capture the non-linear relationships and interactions among laboratory-derived sprint test metrics. This study aimed to predict flying sprint performance of elite-level male track cyclists using multiple linear regression and random forest models based on anaerobic ergometer metrics.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 333 elite male track cyclists completed a 30-s all-out cycle-ergometer sprint test and indoor-velodrome flying 100-m and 200-m sprints. Eight predictors derived from the ergometer test result (body mass, peak power output, 30-s mean power, mean cadence, relative peak power, 5-s maximal mean power normalized to body mass, maximal 5-s power decline, and percentage power drop) were used to develop multiple linear regression and tuned random forest models. Model performance was evaluated on a held-out test set, with random forest hyperparameters optimized via nested cross-validation on the training data. The 100-200-m split time (flying 200-m minus flying 100-m time) was examined in unadjusted and peak power-adjusted models to assess the independent association of power decline metrics with second-half sprint performance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In mutually adjusted multiple linear regression models, 30-s average power was the only independent predictor of flying 100-m and 200-m times (p < 0.001). Test-set predictive performance was modest for linear regression (R² = 0.326 for 100 m; R² = 0.329 for 200 m) and marginally higher for the tuned random forest models (R² = 0.369 for 100 m; R² = 0.393 for 200 m). Random forest importance analyses consistently ranked relative peak power and 30-s average power as the most influential predictors across both outcomes. Percentage power drop was not independently associated with the 100-200-m split in either unadjusted or peak power-adjusted models.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Sprint performance could be predicted with modest accuracy from routinely collected ergometer metrics, with sustained power and relative peak power emerging as the primary contributors. Power decline metrics showed no independent association with second-half sprint performance after accounting for peak power, suggesting that fatigue resistance, as measured by a 30-s all-out cycle-ergometer sprint test, may not directly translate to competitive second-half sprint outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":21788,"journal":{"name":"Sports Medicine - Open","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13323637/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148369675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synthesis and Validity of Accelerometer Devices and Methods Used in Epidemiological Studies of Physical Activity Bout Duration and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review.","authors":"Adrien Chanteau, Germain Faity, Guillaume Mahe, Séverine Sabia, Alexis Le Faucheur","doi":"10.1186/s40798-026-01039-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40798-026-01039-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>A paradigm shift in physical activity (PA) research and recommendations emerged in the most recent guidelines, which now emphasize that all physical activity bouts count,irrespective of their duration. Nevertheless, the validity of accelerometer devices and methods for detecting PA bouts of any duration, as considered in studies underpinning the PA guidelines on bout duration and health, remains unclear. The aim of this systematic review was to systematically analyze the validity level of accelerometer devices and methods that have been used in epidemiological studies on the association between PA bout duration and health outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This systematic review followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and employed a two-step search strategy. First, we identified the existing body of evidence on PA bout duration and health by updating the systematic search originally performed for the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee scientific report and subsequently expanded by Jakicic et al. Three databases (PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane) were searched up to 14 November 2024. The second and final step, which constituted the primary focus of this review, was to retrieve and systematically evaluate the underlying validity studies cited in these epidemiological investigations, with risk of bias assessed using a modified version of the QUADAS-2 tool.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 48 epidemiological studies were included. Analysis of device type, position, epoch duration, drop time, bout duration, and start year of study data collection revealed 113 methodological instances, representing 68 unique combinations, underscoring the heterogeneity in practice. Among the 48 epidemiological studies, 26 validation studies were referenced, and only four were deemed suitable for addressing bout performance detection, accounting for less than 20% of epidemiological studies. For those four studies, the overall study risk of bias was ranked as \"High\" or with \"some concerns\".</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Better accuracy and harmonization of accelerometer devices and methods are crucial for broader adoption in national health surveillance systems, ensuring comparability of results and facilitating global knowledge.</p><p><strong>Registration: </strong>This systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023394705).</p>","PeriodicalId":21788,"journal":{"name":"Sports Medicine - Open","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13323697/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148362192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prescribing Antidepressants for Elite Athletes: Is There Evidence to Support Best Practices in Sports Psychiatry? A Scoping Review.","authors":"Rafael Zini, João Maurício Castaldelli-Maia, Malte Christian Claussen, Maria Olivia Pozzolo Pedro, Renner Santos Borges, André Furtado de Ayalla Rodrigues, Lara Ferreira Camacho, Gustavo Bonini Castellana","doi":"10.1186/s40798-026-01010-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40798-026-01010-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Elite athletes face unique mental health challenges, yet the use of antidepressants in this population remains underresearched. Despite the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, there are no specific pharmacological guidelines tailored to athletes' mental health needs or performance demands.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This scoping review aimed to explore the current literature on the use of antidepressant medications among elite athletes with symptoms of or who were diagnosed with depressive or anxiety disorders, focusing on treatment effectiveness, safety, performance, and, mainly, the athlete's well-being.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO (February 18-20, 2025) was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Predefined terms related to athletes, antidepressants, and psychiatric disorders were employed. Studies were included if they involved elite athletes treated with antidepressants for major depressive disorder, bipolar depression, or generalized anxiety disorder. The data were charted and narratively synthesized.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among the 34,131 records screened, 15 met the inclusion criteria: 11 narrative reviews, 2 systematic reviews, 1 survey, and 1 position statement. Most studies provide recommendations on the basis of the general population, offering limited data on elite athletes with formal diagnoses. Few studies have reported treatment durations or mental health outcomes. While performance effects have been emphasized, psychological recovery is rarely addressed. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors-particularly escitalopram, fluoxetine, and sertraline-were the most commonly suggested drugs.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>There is a lack of robust evidence to guide antidepressant use among elite athletes. Future research should prioritize trials involving clinically diagnosed athletes, structured protocols, and outcomes centered on mental health and well-being rather than merely performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":21788,"journal":{"name":"Sports Medicine - Open","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13319284/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148362072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Annual Athlete Turnover of 36% in Olympic Talent Promotion Programs: A Meta-analysis.","authors":"Arne Güllich, Michael Barth","doi":"10.1186/s40798-026-01050-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40798-026-01050-9","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Across the world, many national sport systems make extensive strategic investments in talent promotion programs (TPPs). The most common TPPs include youth sport academies and sport federations' junior squads. The central idea of TPPs is (1) to select the most promising talents at young ages (around puberty or younger) and (2) to involve them in a long-term continuous nurturing process to facilitate their performance development, eventually leading to increased senior peak performance. This central idea implies that the population of TPP participants is highly stable across age categories. On the other hand, TPPs sometimes replace deselected athletes with new 'side-entry' athletes (athletes who enter a TPP after its initial age category). Hence, there is athlete turnover-fluctuation in the TPP population through exits of participants and entries of new athletes. This implies that the TPP population is unstable across age categories. The magnitude of annual athlete turnover is thus indicative of the operating principle of TPPs and whether it corresponds to their central idea.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;This meta-analysis aimed to provide robust and generalizable evidence on the magnitude of annual athlete turnover in TPPs. It also investigated whether athlete turnover varies between youth sport academies vs federations' junior squads and across ages and sexes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;A systematic literature search was conducted in March 2025 in Web of Science, PubMed, APA PsycINFO, APA PsycARTICLES, and Google Scholar, complemented by snowball search. We searched for original studies that reported annual athlete turnover within TPPs or data needed to compute annual athlete turnover. The search yielded 37 samples, published 2010-25, including 44,287 athletes from all Olympic sports and 42 countries. For each TPP sample and each season-to-season transition, annual athlete turnover was calculated as (number of entries + number of exits) / 2 / total number of current athletes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;The mean annual athlete turnover within TPPs is 36.3%. It is slightly higher in federations' junior squads than youth sport academies but does not differ across ages or sexes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Discussion: &lt;/strong&gt;Most talent selection decisions are revised within two years and, accordingly, more than half of the TPP population is exchanged every two years. Unlike their original idea, the operating principle of TPPs is characterized by frequent selection, deselection, and replacement of youth athletes, resulting in sizeable athlete turnover. We discuss implications regarding inaccurate talent identification and inefficient TPP nurture.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion: &lt;/strong&gt;The operating principle of TPPs can be described as follows: TPPs try out many youth athletes and expand that number through sizeable athlete turnover. Most talent-identified youth athletes are deselected again soon and replaced with other","PeriodicalId":21788,"journal":{"name":"Sports Medicine - Open","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13319627/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148361869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Co-Creating an Intervention to Prevent Injuries in Police Force Recruits: A Concept Mapping Study of Police Force Recruits, Police Force Staff, Health Professionals, and Research Experts.","authors":"Myles Murphy, Andrea B Mosler, Garth Allen, Alex Donaldson, Clare L Ardern, Carolyn A Emery, Martin Hägglund, Jonathan M Hodgson, Joanne L Kemp, Debra Langridge, Tiffany McAlinden, Thomas Mirco, Sophia Nimphius, Simone Radavelli-Bagatini, Kiera Staley, Vanessa Sutton, Evert Verhagen, Andrea M Bruder","doi":"10.1186/s40798-026-01042-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40798-026-01042-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Police force recruits have a high musculoskeletal injury burden, which results in a substantial economic burden and can lead to attrition. The objective of this study was to identify and prioritise the strategies perceived as important and feasible to reduce the prevalence, incidence, and burden of injury in police force recruits.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Mixed-methods concept mapping study.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Forty-eight participants were recruited from four broad groups: police force recruits/officers; police force staff; health professionals; and research experts. Participants brainstormed statements in response to a prompt (\"To prevent injury and/or reduce the impact of injury on law enforcement recruit training, I think it's important to….\") before sorting and rating the statements/strategies for importance and feasibility. Descriptive statistics, multi-dimensional scaling, hierarchical cluster analysis, pattern matching and Welch's t-tests were applied.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Ninety-six unique prevention strategies were identified (42 were above the grand mean for both importance and feasibility). Eight clusters appropriately represented all statements. From highest to lowest mean cluster importance these were: i) clearly communicate physical training program expectations and requirements; ii) prepare for, monitor and manage physical training load; iii) provide best practice injury identification, prevention and management; iv) educate recruits, staff and other stakeholders involved in academy training delivery; v) provide a supportive training environment that promotes health, wellbeing and injury reporting; vi) have experienced staff deliver training and use appropriate equipment; vii) deliver a comprehensive and holistic physical training program; and viii) have appropriate physical entry standards and requirements.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We identified 42 strategies above the grand means for both importance and feasibility to reduce the burden of injury in police force recruits. These strategies can be implemented by recruits, staff delivering the training program, and/ or staff managing or governing the training program. Future research should refine how these strategies can be implemented in practice and policy.</p>","PeriodicalId":21788,"journal":{"name":"Sports Medicine - Open","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13310864/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148340064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}