Synthetic Data for Sharing and Exploration in High-Performance Sport: Considerations for Application.

Background: Synthetic data represent alternative data sources generated using mathematical procedures to address specific issues in research and practice. Synthetic data have emerging applications in clinical and medical data contexts and may assist in overcoming privacy issues to help support open science practice.

Objective: The present study discusses the applicability of an established synthetic data generation process using sequential tree-based algorithms (synthpop package in R) in the context of athlete monitoring data in sport, with the aim of providing an educational primer and discussion for potential application of these methods when exploring issues in the field sports and exercise sciences.

Sports Metaresearch: An Emerging Discipline of Sport Science and Medicine.

Inadequacies in the conduct and quality of research are well established across many research domains, including sport science and medicine. Metaresearch-the practice of performing research on research-is presented as a practical vehicle for improving research quality through evaluating the research processes. This article introduces the concept of metaresearch to sport as a new sub-field of sport science.

Why We Must Stop Assuming and Estimating Menstrual Cycle Phases in Laboratory and Field-Based Sport Related Research.

The increased growth, popularity, and media interest in women's sport has led to calls for greater prioritisation of female-specific research and innovation. In response, science and medicine researchers have increased the volume of sport-related studies investigating female-specific matters, such as the menstrual cycle. Whilst the accelerated rate of published studies with female participants is welcome, the emerging trend of using assumed or estimated menstrual cycle phases to characterise ovarian hormone profiles is a significant concern.

Training-Load Management Ambiguities and Weak Logic: Creating Potential Consequences in Sport Training and Performance.

Background: The optimization of athlete training load is not a new concept; however in recent years, the concept of "load management" is one of the most widely studied and divisive topics in sports science and medicine.

Purpose: Discuss the challenges faced by sports when utilizing training load monitoring and management, with a specific focus on the use of data to inform load management guidelines and policies/mandates, their consequences, and how we move this field forward.

Challenges: While guidelines can theoretically help protect athletes, overzealous and overcautious guidelines may restrict an athlete's preparedness, negatively influence performance, and increase injury risk.

Performance determinants and evidence-based practice in track cycling: A survey of coaches, practitioners, and athletes.

Objectives: This study examined how track cycling coaches, practitioners, and athletes: develop knowledge and practices; value performance areas; and, implement research into practice.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Methods: An online REDCap survey of track cycling coaches, practitioners, and athletes was conducted involving questions related to demographics, performance area importance, knowledge acquisition and application, research relevance, and research direction.

Broadening our understanding of injury mechanisms to include at-risk situations: an overview of potential injuries at the FIFA men's World Cup Qatar 2022.

This study aims to examine and describe the characteristics of potential injury situations during a men's professional international tournament quantified using the FIFA Football Language Medical Coding. A prospective study was conducted during the 64 matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, during which five analysts recorded potential injury situations from video analysis. "Potential injuries" were recorded when players stayed down > 5 s and/or requested medical attention.

Identifying and Minimizing Incentives for Competing Interests in Sports Medicine Publications.

Academics in sports medicine as well as other medical fields are generally expected to publish research and opinions in peer-reviewed journals. The peer-review process is intended to protect against the publication of flawed research and unsubstantiated claims. However, both financial and non-financial competing interests may result in sub-optimal results by affecting investigators, editors, peer reviewers, academic institutions, and publishers.

Meta-analysis prediction intervals are under reported in sport and exercise medicine.

Aim: Prediction intervals are a useful measure of uncertainty for meta-analyses that capture the likely effect size of a new (similar) study based on the included studies. In comparison, confidence intervals reflect the uncertainty around the point estimate but provide an incomplete summary of the underlying heterogeneity in the meta-analysis. This study aimed to estimate (i) the proportion of meta-analysis studies that report a prediction interval in sports medicine; and (ii) the proportion of studies with a discrepancy between the reported confidence interval and a calculated prediction interval.

Up Front and Open? Shrouded in Secrecy? Or Somewhere in Between? A Meta-Research Systematic Review of Open Science Practices in Sport Medicine Research.

To investigate open science practices in research published in the top 5 sports medicine journals from May 1, 2022, and October 1, 2022. A meta-research systematic review. Open science practices were searched in MEDLINE.

Do non-contact injuries occur during high-speed running in elite football? Preliminary results from a novel GPS and video-based method.

Objectives: Understanding how injuries occur (inciting circumstances) is useful for developing etiological hypotheses and prevention strategies. The aims of this study were 1) to evaluate the feasibility of a method combining video and Global Positioning System data to estimate the speed and acceleration of activities leading to injuries and 2) to use this method to analyse the inciting circumstances leading to non-contact injuries.

Design: Retrospective descriptive study.

Core Body Temperatures in Intermittent Sports: A Systematic Review.

Background: Hyperthermia (and associated health and performance implications) can be a significant problem for athletes and teams involved in intermittent sports. Quantifying the highest thermal strain (i.e.

Development of a Standardised System to Classify Injury-Inciting Circumstances in Football: the Football Injury Inciting Circumstances Classification System (FIICCS).

Background: A comprehensive examination of the sport-specific activities and circumstances being performed at the time of injury is important to hypothesise mechanisms, develop prevention strategies and inform future investigations. Results reported in the literature are inconsistent because inciting activities are reported using different classifications. Hence the aim was to develop a standardised system for the reporting of inciting circumstances.

The Trade Secret Taboo: Open Science Methods are Required to Improve Prediction Models in Sports Medicine and Performance.

Clinical prediction models in sports medicine that utilize regression or machine learning techniques have become more widely published, used, and disseminated. However, these models are typically characterized by poor methodology and incomplete reporting, and an inadequate evaluation of performance, leading to unreliable predictions and weak clinical utility within their intended sport population. Before implementation in practice, models require a thorough evaluation.

Understanding Training Load as Exposure and Dose.

Various terms used in sport and exercise science, and medicine, are derived from other fields such as epidemiology, pharmacology and causal inference. Conceptual and nomological frameworks have described training load as a multidimensional construct manifested by two causally related subdimensions: external and internal training load. In this article, we explain how the concepts of training load and its subdimensions can be aligned to classifications used in occupational medicine and epidemiology, where exposure can also be differentiated into external and internal dose.

Healthcare providers have insufficient up-to-date knowledge of lower limb sports injuries, and their knowledge is similar to that of athletes.

Background: Being up-to-date with evidence-based knowledge of lower limb sports injuries is essential for Healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Purpose: To assess whether HCPs possess up-to-date knowledge of lower limb sports injuries by comparing their knowledge to that of athletes.

Methods: With an expert panel, we developed an online quiz of 10 multiple-choice questions on various topics related to lower-limb sports injuries.

Development and Validation of Single Items for Fatigue and Recovery in Dancers.

Purpose: To examine the construct validity and reliability of 2 single items for fatigue and recovery in dancers. The construct validity was assessed using reference instruments: the fatigue items of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) and the Short Recovery and Stress Scale (SRSS). A secondary aim was to explore the respondent interpretation of these 2 items using a concept identification approach.

Measurement properties of PROMIS short forms for pain and function in patients receiving knee arthroplasty.

Background: While there are a few studies on measurement properties of PROMIS short forms for pain and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis, nothing is known about the measurement properties in patients with knee arthroplasty. Therefore, this study examined the measurement properties of the German Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) short forms for pain intensity (PAIN), pain interference (PI) and physical function (PF) in knee arthroplasty patients.

Methods: Short forms were collected from consecutive patients of our clinic's knee arthroplasty registry before and 12 months post-surgery.

Research on women's football: a scoping review.

Aim: This study aims to scope available peer-reviewed literature published in a FIFA language to understand the current quantity of research on women's football.

Methods: Five databases were searched on the 15/12/2019. Studies were included when containing original research published in a peer-reviewed journal around female competitive football of any level, any age and on any subject.

Investigating the Effect of Return-to-Play Timing After Injury on Performance: Does the Analysis Answer the Research Objective?

Return-to-play decision making should be based on all the advantages and disadvantages of return to play for athletes, not just the risk of injury. For competitive athletes, this includes the effect of early versus delayed return to sport on performance. In this paper, we address the questions "How can I estimate the effect of injury on the individual's performance at return to play?" and "What is the effect of delaying return to sport on the individual's performance?".

Injury-Inciting Activities in Male and Female Football Players: A Systematic Review.

Background: A comprehensive examination of the sport-specific activities performed around the time of injury is important to hypothesise injury mechanisms, develop prevention strategies, improve management, and inform future investigations. The aim of this systematic review is to summarise the current literature describing the activities performed around the time of injury in football (soccer).

Methods: A systematic search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and OpenGrey.