Background Advances in instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) allow for accurate quantification of single high-acceleration head impacts and cumulative head acceleration exposure in collision sports. However, relationships between these measures and risk of brain cell injury remain unclear. Aim The purpose of this study was to quantify measures of non-concussive head impact exposure and assess their association

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate head kinematic variables in elite men’s and women’s rugby union and their ability to predict player removal for an off-field (HIA1) head injury assessment. Methods Instrumented mouthguard (iMG) data were collected for 250 men and 132 women from 1865 and 807 player-matches, respectively, and synchronised to video-coded match footage. Head peak

The force–length relationship is usually obtained for isometric contractions with maximal activation, but less is known about how sarcomere length affects force during submaximal activation. During submaximal activation, length-dependent alterations in calcium sensitivity, owing to changes in cross-bridge kinetics (rate of attachment and/or detachment), result in an activation-dependent shift in optimal

Background It is unknown whether there are differences in maximal oxygen uptake (\({V}\)O2max) response when prescribing intensity relative to traditional (TRAD) anchors or to physiological thresholds (THR). Objectives The present meta-analysis sought to compare: (a) mean change in \({V}\)O2max, (b) proportion of individuals increasing \({V}\)O2max beyond a minimum important difference (MID) and (c)

Background and Aim Professional soccer players’ self-reported dietary intakes often do not meet recommended sport nutrition guidelines. Although behaviour change models have previously explored barriers and enablers to nutritional adherence, the cultural factors influencing players’ nutritional habits also warrant investigation. Accordingly, we aimed to explore players’ perceptions of the nutrition

Background Cognitive and mental health problems are highly prevalent in adolescence. While higher levels of physical fitness may mitigate these problems, there is a lack of long-term follow-up studies on the associations of physical fitness from childhood with cognition and mental health in adolescence. Objective We investigated the associations of physical fitness from childhood to adolescence over

A clearer understanding of, and tighter boundaries between, terms are important for researchers designing studies as well as for other sport stakeholders creating evidence-informed policies. This article considers the terms ‘athlete’, ‘talent’, and ‘player’ from psychological and sociocultural perspectives and in different sporting communities to highlight the importance of terminological clarity in

Tendons play fundamental roles in the execution of human movement and therefore understanding tendon function, health and disease is important for everyday living and sports performance. The acute mechanical behavioural and physiological responses to short-term loading of tendons, as well as more chronic morphological and mechanical adaptations to longer term loading, differ between sexes. This has