BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation最新文献

{"title":"Effects of aerobic exercise on executive function in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.","authors":"Pengfei Wang, Fengshuo Rao, Zikang Xu, Kailin Xing, Yuhang Gao, Dong Li","doi":"10.1186/s13102-025-01304-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13102-025-01304-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The benefits of aerobic exercise on the executive function of children and adolescents have been confirmed to a certain extent. However, the effects of such interventions on the executive function of children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) require further exploration. This study is a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of aerobic exercise interventions for children and adolescents with ADHD, aiming to provide valuable intervention suggestions to enhance the executive function of children and adolescents with ADHD.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, EMbase, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, Scopus, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP databases, to identify relevant RCTs. We established detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria, followed by literature screening, data extraction, quality assessment, and data analysis conducted by two independent researchers. Literature screening was performed using EndNote X9. Risk of bias assessment (RoB1) and meta-analysis were conducted using Review Manager 5.4. Network meta-analysis was performed using Stata 17.0.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 16 studies were included in the analysis, involving 668 participants diagnosed with ADHD, including 343 in the experimental group and 325 in the control group. The age range of the participants was between 6 and 18 years. The results of the meta-analysis show that aerobic exercise interventions have a moderate effect size positive impact on inhibitory control (SMD = - 0.69, 95% CI: -1.04, - 0.34, p < 0.05), working memory (SMD = - 0.52, 95% CI: -0.82, - 0.21, p < 0.05), and cognitive flexibility (SMD = - 0.64, 95% CI: -0.83, - 0.45, p < 0.05) in children and adolescents with ADHD. Subgroup analyses indicate that the effectiveness of aerobic exercise interventions is moderated by factors such as intervention period, frequency, session duration, intensity and the choice between acute or chronic exercise. The results of the network meta-analysis showed that ball-based aerobic exercise [SMD = - 1.00, 95% CI = (- 1.98, - 0.03)] performed the best in improving inhibitory control among children and adolescents with ADHD, with a SUCRA value of 65.1%. It is important to note that most of the measurement tools for executive function employed reaction time as the evaluation criterion, which means that a more negative effect size corresponds to greater improvement.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Aerobic exercise interventions can significantly improve the executive functions of children and adolescents with ADHD. To achieve the best intervention effects, it is recommended to engage in chronic aerobic exercise, with a period lasting no less than 12 weeks, scheduled 3 to 5 times per week, each session lasting 60 min or more, and maintaining intensity at moderate or moderate-to-vigorous levels. Additionally,","PeriodicalId":48585,"journal":{"name":"BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation","volume":"17 1","pages":"257"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12398161/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of eccentric and concentric force during vertical jump after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a comparative study.","authors":"Florian Forelli, Ayrton Moiroux-Sahraoui, Jean Mazeas, William Ly, Maciej Bialy, Maurice Douryang, Timothy E Hewett, Benoit Pairot De Fontenay","doi":"10.1186/s13102-025-01301-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13102-025-01301-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) significantly affects lower limb biomechanics, particularly during dynamic movements like jumping. The countermovement jump (CMJ) is a commonly used test to evaluate force production and asymmetry in post-ACL-R individuals. This study aimed to compare eccentric and concentric forces during the CMJ between ACL-R patients and healthy controls.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective study included 56 ACL-R patients and 47 recreational athletes. All participants performed CMJs on a dual force plate to measure eccentric mean force (ECC), Concentric mean force (CON), and limb symmetry index (LSI). A mixed ANOVA was performed to compare ECC LSI and CON LSI between the ACL-R and control groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>CMJ height was significantly lower in the ACL-R group compared to the control group (-25.4%, p < 0.001), with a lower ECC LSI (-7.7%, p < 0.001) and CON LSI (-10.0%, p < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Six months after ACL-R, both eccentric and concentric force production remain compromised, with significant inter-limb asymmetries. These findings highlight the need for targeted rehabilitation strategies to restore force symmetry and optimize return-to-sport readiness.</p>","PeriodicalId":48585,"journal":{"name":"BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation","volume":"17 1","pages":"259"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12398032/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Positional relative age effect in europe's top ten football leagues.","authors":"Mücahit Işık, Mehmet Yavuz, Osman Dişçeken, Halil İbrahim Ceylan, Tugay Öksüz, Kadir Demir","doi":"10.1186/s13102-025-01312-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13102-025-01312-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>A previous study confirmed the existence of the relative age effect (RAE) in the top ten leagues of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) during the 2016-2017 season, reporting that the effect was particularly pronounced among defenders and midfielders. The present study investigates whether this effect persists. Specifically, it aims to examine the RAE among professional male footballers in UEFA's top ten leagues during the 2023-2024 season, and to explore how the effect varies by playing position and league.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study analysed the birthdates and playing positions of 5,238 professional footballers. Birthdates were categorised into four quartiles: Q1 (January 1 to March 31), Q2 (April 1 to June 30), Q3 (July 1 to September 30), and Q4 (October 1 to December 31), and were examined in detail by league and position.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Players born in Q1 (30.3%) were overrepresented compared to those born in Q4 (20.5%) (χ² = 132.470, p < .05). This difference was statistically significant in most leagues, particularly in Serie A (χ² = 33.535, V = 0.14), Ligue 1 (χ² = 23.741, V = 0.11), LaLiga (χ² = 22.491, V = 0.12), and Bundesliga (χ² = 21.681, V = 0.12), but not in Premier League (χ² = 1.665, p = .645). In terms of playing position, the RAE was present across all groups (p < .05), with the most pronounced effect observed among goalkeepers (χ² = 40.006, V = 0.15). Positional RAE patterns varied across leagues: significant differences were found for goalkeepers in Serie A, Süper Lig, and LaLiga; for defenders in LaLiga and Jupiler Pro League; for midfielders in Serie A, Ligue 1, Süper Lig, and Eredivisie; and for forwards in Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and Scottish Premiership (p < .05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings indicate that the RAE persists in professional football within UEFA's top leagues. The effect is evident across all playing positions and varies by league context.</p>","PeriodicalId":48585,"journal":{"name":"BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation","volume":"17 1","pages":"258"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12398170/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Activity of upper-limb muscles during therapeutic climbing: a cross-sectional comparison between fractured and healthy individuals.","authors":"Yaming Liu, Bing Li, Fengxian Wu, Chenglong Feng, Lejun Wang, Bin Chen, Wenxin Niu","doi":"10.1186/s13102-025-01311-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13102-025-01311-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Therapeutic climbing (TC) is an emerging physical therapy with demonstrated benefits for musculoskeletal rehabilitation, but its impact on upper-limb muscle activity remains unclear. Existing research predominantly focuses on healthy individuals, leaving muscle recruitment strategies in patients with upper-limb injuries largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate upper-limb muscle activity in patients with unilateral upper-limb injuries and healthy individuals across six TC exercises.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Eleven patients with right upper-limb fractures and 15 healthy controls were recruited. The electromyographic temporal patterns, activation intensity, bilateral symmetry, and synergy patterns of anterior deltoid (AD), posterior deltoid (PD), biceps brachii (BB), triceps brachii (TB), pronator teres (PT), flexor carpi radialis (FCR), and flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) were assessed during elbow and knee flexion-extension exercises and four sequential climbing exercises.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>AD, BB, and PT exhibited greater activation during climbing, while TB was more active in elbow flexion-extension (p < 0.05). Climbing showed lower similarity ([Formula: see text] = 0.72, lag = -3.40%) than flexion-extension (0.80, 1.36%), which was influenced by climbing sequences: starting with the injured side resulted in 0.85 similarity and 1.71% delay, while starting with the uninjured side reduced similarity to 0.6 and increased delay to 7%. Patients exhibited lower activation intensity than controls in AD (p = 0.048), BB (p = 0.017), TB (p = 0.006), and PT (p < 0.01), and greater asymmetry, especially in PT (p < 0.01). Two synergy patterns explained the > 94% variance in both groups. Patients showed altered synergy patterns with increased AD and reduced forearm activation intensity during climbing (p < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Patients exhibited delayed muscle activation, decreased activation similarity and intensity, as well as specific compensatory patterns, which were related to both the injury locations and the types of exercises performed. Flexion-extension exercises are more suitable for early rehabilitation. Climbing exercises require greater muscle activation, with climbing starting from the injured side being more suitable for advanced rehabilitation stages. However, injury-induced compensation must be carefully considered in program design.</p>","PeriodicalId":48585,"journal":{"name":"BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation","volume":"17 1","pages":"260"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12398112/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of aerobic combined with resistance exercise on cardiopulmonary function in patients with coronary heart disease: a bayesian meta-analysis based on dose-response, baseline status, and other moderators.","authors":"Jianbo Zhang, Fang Zhang, Jingjing Tao, May Teo Xin Yu, Frank Teo Li Wen","doi":"10.1186/s13102-025-01314-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13102-025-01314-z","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48585,"journal":{"name":"BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation","volume":"17 1","pages":"256"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12398111/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interlimb asymmetries of lower limb isometric strength for predicting plantar fasciitis in male amateur marathon runners: a prospective cohort study.","authors":"Daxin Li, Yangli Liu, Yangya Feng, Cheng Peng, Donghui Tang","doi":"10.1186/s13102-025-01295-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13102-025-01295-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Plantar fasciitis (PF) is the third most common type of running-related injuries. However, there are few studies on the association between interlimb asymmetry of lower limb isometric strength and PF among marathon runners. The present study aims to investigate whether the interlimb asymmetry of lower limb isometric strength could predict PF in male amateur marathon runners.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>172 male amateur marathon runners were tested for lower limb isometric strength using the MicroFet 3 muscle testing dynamometer and inclinometer. The interlimb asymmetry of the lower limb isometric strength were calculated. Subsequently, the subjects were followed up for 3-month to record the incidence of PF. Statistical analysis was performed using independent-sample t test, logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the 3-month follow-up, a total of 12 runners experienced PF. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that the interlimb asymmetry of hip abduction isometric strength was significantly correlated with PF development (OR = 3.646; 95%CI:1.193-11.148; P = 0.023). The ROC curve analysis revealed that the area under the ROC curve was 0.717 (95% CI: 0.544-0.889, P = 0.012), and the sensitivity and specificity of the interlimb asymmetry of the hip abduction isometric strength for diagnosing PF were 0.667 and 0.238, indicating good discrimination. In addition, the Hosmer-Lemeshow fitting test showed that the model has statistical significance (X² = 14.365, P = 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The interlimb asymmetry of hip abduction isometric strength was associated with a greater likelihood of developing PF, and interlimb asymmetry of hip abduction isometric strength greater than 32.5% was a significant risk factor for the development of PF in male amateur marathon runners. The risk of PF occurence increased by 3.646 times if the interlimb asymmetry of hip abduction isometric strength greater than 32.5%. For clinicians, it is suggested to pay attention to the balanced development of bilateral muscle strength in the process of PF rehabilitation treatment, and regard the improvement of the interlimb asymmetry of hip abduction isometric strength as one of the rehabilitation therapies. Moreover, for runners and coaches, it is suggested that they should appropriately add unilateral or bilateral strength training (such as side-lying hip abduction training, clamshell exercise, supine bridge, etc.) in the daily training to ensure the balanced development of hip abduction strength, so as to prevent the occurrence of PF.</p>","PeriodicalId":48585,"journal":{"name":"BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation","volume":"17 1","pages":"255"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12395752/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The role of different rest periods on post-activation performance enhancement in plyometric preload.","authors":"Rüzgar Şener, Akan Bayrakdar, Müjde Atıcı, Soner Akgün, Zeynep Senem Söyleyici Öcal, Raci Karayiğit, Ali Kerim Yılmaz","doi":"10.1186/s13102-025-01310-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13102-025-01310-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The optimal combination of factors such as rest duration, type of activity, and individual variability for maximizing post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) following plyometric conditioning activity (plyometric CA) remains a subject of debate. To investigate the effects of different rest periods (4, 8, and 12 min) on performance following plyometric CA, this randomized controlled study was conducted.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty physically active men were included in this study (mean ± SD: age 20.74 ± 1.94 years, with a range of 18-24 years, body weight 70.61 ± 3.01 kg, and height 176 ± 1.8 cm). Participants familiarized themselves with the plyometric CA protocol through a preliminary session involving three sets of ten tuck jumps to ensure proper technique. A familiarization test was performed on the first day. They performed in a vertical jump test with different rest periods (4, 8, 12 min) between tests, set at 48-hour intervals and the randomized design was compared to the control group. The data obtained were analyzed using appropriate statistical tests in SPSS 25 and Microsoft Office Excel.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Although no statistically significant differences were observed between conditions (p > 0.05), a consistent increasing trend in performance indicators was noted following 4-, 8-, and 12-minute rest intervals. Compared to the control condition, jump height increased by 2.81%, 2.95%, and 3.01%; peak power output (PPO) increased by 1.84%, 1.94%, and 2.59%; and PPO relative to total body mass increased by 2.04%, 2.06%, and 2.15%, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In conclusion, the findings highlight the complexity of rest interval effects on PAPE and suggest the necessity of individualized rest strategies to optimize athletic performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":48585,"journal":{"name":"BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation","volume":"17 1","pages":"254"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12395879/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Long-term basketball training shapes cerebellar-frontal integration for enhanced cognitive control.","authors":"Wenxuan Fang, Yapeng Qi, Yihan Wang, Xinwei Li, Xiaoxia Du, Bin Shao","doi":"10.1186/s13102-025-01281-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13102-025-01281-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48585,"journal":{"name":"BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation","volume":"17 1","pages":"253"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12392521/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A narrative review of deep learning applications in sports performance analysis: current practices, challenges, and future directions.","authors":"Yunke Jia, Norli Anida Abdullah, Hafiz Eliza, Qingbo Lu, Deyou Si, Hengwei Guo, Wenliang Wang","doi":"10.1186/s13102-025-01294-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13102-025-01294-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The integration of deep learning techniques into sports performance analysis has significantly advanced athlete monitoring, motion tracking, and predictive modelling. These advancements have significantly improved the ability to assess performance, optimize training strategies, and reduce injury risks. However, despite notable progress, challenges remain in standardizing methodologies, ensuring model reliability, and enhancing real-time application across various sports disciplines.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a systematic literature search of Web of Science Core Collection (WOS), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Association for Computing Machinery Digital Library (ACM DL) for relevant studies published from 2015 to 2024, with no language restrictions. Eligible studies were those that explicitly applied deep learning techniques (such as convolutional and recurrent neural networks) to sports performance analysis tasks (e.g., action recognition and classification, motion detection and tracking, injury prediction) and reported their methodology and performance metrics. Key data, including sport type, application domain, and model type, were extracted for narrative synthesis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 51 studies met the inclusion criteria, covering a broad range of individual and team sports. Deep learning techniques in sports performance analysis were chiefly employed for action recognition, object detection and multi-target tracking, target classification, and performance or injury prediction. CNNs were the most common models for visual recognition tasks, while RNNs (including LSTMs) were frequently used for temporal sequence data. Most studies reported improved performance outcomes with deep learning; however, we observed considerable variability in data quality, model validation approaches, and cross-sport generalizability.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Deep learning has demonstrated transformative potential in optimizing sports performance analysis by providing automated, data-driven insights. Future research should prioritize integrating multi-modal data sources, refining real-time analytics, and improving the adaptability of deep learning techniques across different sports contexts to support more precise and data-driven performance assessments.</p>","PeriodicalId":48585,"journal":{"name":"BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation","volume":"17 1","pages":"249"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12382096/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Targeted muscle activation in Bulgarian split squat variations: effects of trunk position and suspension-based execution.","authors":"Elif Aygun-Polat, Nevin A Guzel, Sonay Guruhan, Yusuf Polat, Nihan Karatas","doi":"10.1186/s13102-025-01306-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13102-025-01306-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Optimizing muscle activation through exercise variation is critical for enhancing performance and reducing injury risk. This cross-sectional study examined how trunk position (neutral vs. flexion) and surface stability (ground-based vs. suspension-based) influence lower extremity and trunk muscle activation during the Bulgarian Split Squat (BSS).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty-one trained female athletes (mean ± SD: age 20.3 ± 2.5 years; height 165.9 ± 5.8 cm; body weight 58.5 ± 5.7 kg) participated in the study. Surface electromyography was used to assess activation of eight lower extremity and trunk muscles: gluteus medius (GMed), gluteus maximus (GMax), vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis (VM), semitendinosus (ST), biceps femoris (BF), and erector spinae (ES) during four BSS variations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Suspension-based BSS resulted in significantly greater activation of the ES (p = 0.046), while trunk flexion increased activation in the GMax, BF, and RF muscles (p < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Suspension-based BSS is particularly effective for targeting trunk stabilizers like the ES, while trunk flexion enhances posterior chain muscle activation, especially GMax and BF. These variations can be strategically applied in strength training and rehabilitation to meet specific neuromuscular goals. In practice, the findings may guide individualized programming for enhancing performance or preventing injuries in female athletes.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT06112015, registered on 01/11/2023.</p>","PeriodicalId":48585,"journal":{"name":"BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation","volume":"17 1","pages":"251"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12382192/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974827","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}