Frontiers in Sports and Active Living最新文献

Humans adapt their gait patterns in response to both internal (e.g., fatigue) and external (e.g., terrain) constraints. Although bipedal locomotion is generally efficient, its stability is reduced on steep or uneven surfaces. Under such conditions, adult hikers often use trekking poles to enhance stability and reduce physical load. In this study, we analysed pole-foot coordination in novice hikers ascending a 4.2 km uphill trail using a gait-classification framework derived from quadrupedal locomotion research. Coordination patterns were characterised by duty factor and diagonality, and gait transition was defined as a shift in the dominant diagonality range across stair-height conditions. When participants ascended moderately high stairs (20 cm), diagonal couplets (diagonality ranges of 40%-50% and 50%-60%) were most frequently observed. These patterns accounted for 36.7% of all steps recorded at 20 cm stairs in the early section of the trail and were similarly frequent (43.4%) in the later section. In contrast, when the stair height increased to approximately 40 cm, lateral couplets (diagonality ranges of 0%-10% and 90%-100%) became dominant, accounting for 33.9% of all steps recorded under this condition. These results indicate that hikers preferentially select pole-foot coordination patterns depending on stair height and show that a diagonal-lateral classification scheme provides a useful basis for describing qualitative coordination transitions in human pole-assisted gait.

Purpose: Physical literacy (PL) encompasses the motivation, confidence, physical competence, and knowledge necessary for engaging in physical activity throughout one's life. Although tools such as the Canadian Assessment Physical Literacy (CAPL-2) assess PL globally, they lack cultural alignment with the Spanish context in terms of their cognitive components. This emphasizes the importance of developing a context-specific tool for assessing PL-related knowledge in Spanish primary education. This study aims to develop and validate the Physical Education Knowledge Questionnaire-Spain (PEKQ-S) for children aged 6-12, aligning it with the national physical education (PE) curriculum and evaluating its factor structure and reliability.

Methods: The PEKQ-S was developed through curriculum review, expert consultation, and student input via open-ended and closed-ended questions. Its feasibility and reliability were tested in 145 Spanish primary school children aged 6-12, and its structure was evaluated via exploratory factor analysis.

Results: Exploratory factor analysis identified two correlated factors across nine items. The PEKQ-S showed acceptable internal consistency [Cronbach's alpha (α) = 0.508-0.832] and fair to substantial test-retest reliability [intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.337-0.696]. Moderate correlations were found between factors (r = 0.362), and most items demonstrated good reproducibility and stability.

Conclusion: The PEKQ-S is a valid, reliable, and feasible tool for assessing PE-related knowledge linked to the PL in Spanish children aged 6-12. It represents the first instrument of its kind in Spain and forms part of the Spanish Physical Literacy Assessment for Children (SPLA-C) model.

Introduction: Human Activity Recognition (HAR) has emerged as an enabling research field, with applications ranging from healthcare and sports analytics to smart environments. However, achieving scalable and accurate HAR systems that generalize across diverse activity scenarios remains a challenging problem.

Methods: In this paper, we propose a scalable HAR system, which integrates a new model named SKS-Transformer with a custom-designed wearable Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The IMU combines an ESP8266 microcontroller and a JY61 sensor, enabling wireless acquisition of motion data. The proposed SKS-Transformer model incorporates Selective Kernel Networks and squeeze-enhanced axial attention modules to capture multiscale temporal dynamics and directional dependencies, respectively. The motion data preprocessing pipeline includes denoising, segmentation, and normalization. The preprocessed data are fused through a learnable gating mechanism, enabling the model to adaptively balance local and global motion patterns.

Results: We evaluate the system scalability and performance on two public datasets (UCI-HAR and PAMAP2) and two captured datasets that feature both daily activities and fine-grained golf swing errors. Experimental results demonstrate that the SKS-Transformer model consistently surpasses the state of the art on both public datasets (by 0.3% and 0.09% compared to the best of 11 other published models) and by 2.86% and 0.46%, achieving the accuracy of up to 98.10% on collected HAR data, as well as 100% accuracy in golf swing error detection.

Discussion: Ablation studies of SKS-Transformer confirm the contribution of each architectural model component to overall model performance and provide further insights for future optimizations. Future work will investigate the applications of the SKS-Transformer-based system in extended real-world scenarios, including intelligent healthcare, sports performance monitoring, and wearable computing. The source code for our proposed method has been released publicly and is available on GitHub at: URL: https://github.com/cw-feng/SKS-Transformer-Multi-scale-and-direction-aware-attention-for-activity-recognition.

Equestrian sport is a unique multi-species discipline in which the performance of a horse-rider dyad depends on the harmonious interaction of two athletes with distinct biomechanics and needs. Although the sport contributes substantially to the global economy and is the only Olympic event involving two species, research on rider-centered factors has been fragmented. Current narrative review centered peer-reviewed evidence addressing three questions: (RQ1) how rider biomechanics and posture influence horse performance and welfare; (RQ2) what causes and consequences rider asymmetry has; and (RQ3) how riders' fitness, health and training practices affect performance and well-being. Electronic searches of five databases-namely PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Google Scholar-covering 2000 to July 2024 retrieved 83 records; 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Correct pelvic orientation, dynamic trunk control and symmetrical weight distribution were consistently associated with improved saddle pressure distribution and better equine gait. Asymmetries in riders' posture, whether inherent or acquired, contributed to uneven loading and degraded performance, yet many riders were unaware of their imbalances. Studies on fitness and training showed that equestrians often neglect structured off-horse conditioning despite moderate-to-vigorous cardiovascular demands during riding. Targeted core training programmes, cross-training and nutritional support improved balance and reduced back pain. Taken together, the literature points to a need for holistic interventions that combine biomechanical assessment, correction of asymmetry and structured fitness programmes to support both the rider and their horse.

Introduction: There is a well-established association between physical activity and positive health and wellbeing outcomes, however, evidence on the effectiveness of surf therapy as a therapeutic intervention for children with disabilities remains limited. This article presents a longitudinal case narrative of Rowan, one of five children who participated in a structured surf therapy programme in the Western Cape province of South Africa as part of a broader PhD study involving 35 participants across multiple stakeholder groups. This case was purposefully selected to highlight in-depth individual experience over time.

Method: A qualitative participatory research approach was used to explore the benefits of a surf therapy programme from the perspective of children. The research design was a longitudinal exploratory case study underpinned by interpretive phenomenological analysis of themes and sub-themes. Data were gathered through three open-ended narrative interviews with each child over a one year period.

Findings and discussion: The key theme: "An ambassador's journey of change" describes the child's experience of and perspectives on the benefits of surf therapy under three sub-themes: "Surfing has taught me to be more myself"; "Re-shaping my worldview" and "Now I like to be (am) stress free". The mental, physical, social, and emotional health benefits of surf therapy for one child at micro, meso, exo and macro systems levels are discussed, highlighting the relevance of Social-Ecological Model of Disability and the Community-Based Rehabilitation Guidelines of the World Health Organisation to facilitate disability inclusion.

Conclusion: The case story of Rowan illustrates how an inclusive surf therapy programme supports the health, development, and relational wellbeing of children with disabilities by reshaping their worldview and strengthening self-confidence. The programme enabled the mastery of new skills that extended beyond the ocean into their homes, schools, and broader ecological systems. This study advances surf therapy research by offering rare longitudinal evidence from a Global South context. It demonstrated how multisystem mechanisms of change, rooted in disability inclusive and community-based frameworks, inform more responsive practice, programming, and policy processes.

This study aimed to quantify the age distributions of Para athletes competing in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games across 13 individual disciplines. A total of 5,540 athletes (52.2% male, 47.8% female) participated, with ages calculated at competition. The analysis examined differences by discipline, sex, and competitive achievement (medallist vs. non-medallist). The statistical analyses included the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Mann-Whitney U post-hoc tests to detect differences across disciplines, while Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests were used to analyze sex and competitive achievement at the level of 5%. The results revealed significant variation in age across sports. Para Equestrian (38 years), Para Archery (37 years), and Para Powerlifting (36 years) exhibited the highest ages, indicating later career, while Para Swimming (25 years), Para Taekwondo (27 years), and Para Athletics (29 years) showed earlier ages. The male Para Athletes demonstrated a slightly higher median age than females (30 vs. 28ys). No significant age difference was found between medallists and non-medallists. Age category analysis highlighted a greater proportion of athletes over 30 years in disciplines with later ages. These findings underscore the importance of sport-specific age considerations in Paralympic athlete's development and talent identification. The study contributes novel insights by encompassing multiple disciplines and Para athlete profiles, offering a comprehensive understanding of age-related performance patterns in elite Para sport.

Background: Physical exercise (PE) plays a critical role in the rehabilitation of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), yet global scientific production in this field shows heterogeneous distribution across themes and collaboration networks. Scientometric analyses can clarify research evolution, collaborative structures, and thematic priorities. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive mapping of two decades of scientific output on physical exercise and SCI.

Methods: Original research articles published between 2004 and 2024 were retrieved from Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus using a standardized search strategy. Reviews, meta-analyses, editorials, letters, and conference abstracts, and gray literature, as well as out-of-scope studies were excluded. Data were analyzed with Bibliometrix (v4.1.3), VOSviewer (v1.0.0), and Microsoft Excel®.

Results: A total of 692 original articles were included. The field exhibited a modest average annual growth rate (1.31%), with a publication peak in 2021 (n = 59), followed by a decline from 2022 onward. Keyword co-occurrence and conceptual structure analyses identified five dominant thematic axes: (i) physical and functional performance, (ii) physiological responses, (iii) clinical rehabilitation, (iv) assistive engineering and biomechanics, and (v) metabolism and health. Psychosocial dimensions and assistive technology-focused research accounted for less than 5% of the thematic network, indicating limited representation.

Conclusion: Despite sustained scientific activity, the quantitative structure of the literature indicating persistent asymmetries in thematic representation. Notably, psychosocial outcomes, assistive technology applications, and the integration of functional and metabolic perspectives remain underexplored. These findings highlight clear research gaps and underscore the need for more interdisciplinary approaches and broader geographic participation to advance evidence-based exercise interventions for individuals with SCI.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is most often used as a standalone, without integration of complementary data. Yet these data are at our fingertips, and a revolution might be just around the corner. This perspective article gives insight on how integrating accelerometery and continuous blood pressure and extracting ventilatory variables may improve the use of HRV, taking it to a whole new level for elite and recreational sports, assessing fatigue, and intensity domains. Also, the use of mass data could lead to seamless measurements as precise and relevant as in elite sports, which could be made available to the public for health assessment and follow-up.

Introduction: This systematic review investigates sports supplementation research from a social science perspective, focusing on the period from 2014 to 2024. Given the absence of a standard definition and shared taxonomy, the article explores the intricate interrelations among nutritional, psychological, commercial, cultural, historical, and sociological dimensions that constitute this field.

Methods: A systematic review methodology was employed in accordance with the PRISMA protocol. Initially, 440 articles were screened, leading to a final selection of 56 relevant papers distributed across five central themes.

Results: The analysis revealed complex interrelations among various dimensions, including nutritional, psychological, commercial, cultural, historical, and sociological factors. The five identified themes are as follows: Attitudes towards Supplements and Doping (N = 18): This theme explores psychosocial influences on substance use. Gateway to Doping (N = 9): It highlights the progression from initial supplement use to the adoption of prohibited substances. Networks and Key Actors (N = 8): This aspect maps the social and professional interactions that influence athletes' decisions regarding supplementation. The Grey Area of Supplementation (N = 12): It addresses underrepresented populations and scientific uncertainties surrounding supplementation. Conceptual Ambiguity (N = 9): This theme confronts the ongoing lack of universal definitions and classifications in the field.

Discussion: The findings support a dual taxonomy for classifying supplements into functional foods, individual nutrients, ergogenic supplements, and multi-ingredient products. Furthermore, they establish a hierarchy of scientific evidence, positioning randomised controlled trials as the "gold standard." This research underscores how contemporary diets integrate cultural traditions, scientific advancements, and technological developments, while emphasising critical dualities: health vs. energy metabolism, risk vs. benefit, and safety vs. effectiveness.

Background: Effective training load (TL) management is crucial for optimizing performance, especially in elite team sports, where congested schedules (≥ two matches a week) are common and can lead to fatigue accumulation. Understanding inter-individual variations in workload is a key to tailor training strategies. This study aimed to analyze inter-individual differences in accumulated TL in elite handball players over a macrocycle of 6 months with special regards to congested schedules.

Methods: Fifteen professional players from the first German Handball League were monitored between July and December 2023. External (ACCLOAD, Kinexon, Munich) and internal load measures (sRPE) were recorded across 24 matches and 67 training sessions, The weekly workload accumulated during matches and training was analyzed descriptively. ANOVAs were performed to analyze the impact of the factor "week congestion".

Results: Analysis revealed substantial inter-individual differences in accumulated load, with coefficients of variation (CV) ranging from .14 to .27 depending on the measure (ACCLOAD, sRPE). Higher variation was observed during matches than during training, particularly in congested weeks. While no significant effect of week congestion was found for absolute weekly load, inter-individual variation increased in congested weeks. Case comparisons between backcourt and wing players highlighted discrepancies in load accumulation due to differences in playing time and role.

Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of monitoring individual TLs to optimize player performance and minimize fatigue particularly in congested schedules. Coaches should consider compensatory training to address these discrepancies. Our research provides valuable insights into load accumulation in elite team handball, emphasizing the need for personalized approaches to balance performance demands and recovery.