Objective To explore sports injury prevention and management strategies, barriers and facilitators, within an elite sport context in Senegal, by giving voice to the stakeholders (including coaches, health professionals, athletes) that are working or competing in the country. The study was conducted as Senegal prepares to host the Youth Olympic Games in 2026.Methods Between February and May 2025, we conducted a qualitative study, with 16 semistructured interviews of athletes (n=5), coaches (n=7) and health professionals (n=4) locally involved in sport at the national level. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and then analysed following the three coding phases of grounded theory: open coding, axial coding and selective coding, before being analysed using ATLAS.ti software.Results According to these Senegalese elite sports stakeholders, injury prevention is mostly informal and individually led by coaches, often lacking alignment with international standards. Intervention remained reactive rather than proactive and injury management was limited by financial, logistical and cultural constraints. Coaches emerged as central and versatile stakeholders, frequently taking on medical, educational and emotional roles in the absence of structured multidisciplinary systems. Gender-determined practices and mental health stigma further complicated care, especially for women athletes.Conclusion This study highlights the essential role of coaches in injury prevention and management within sports structures of Senegal, even at the elite level. Our findings underscore the need to strengthen support structures with appropriate tools, education and resources. Developing context-specific and culturally relevant strategies is crucial to improve athlete health and promote injury prevention practices in resource-limited settings.

OBJECTIVE:To quantify the extent of musculoskeletal injuries in Olympic Athletics (track and field) disciplines by synthesising the current evidence on the prevalence of injured athletes, injury event incidence rates and injury characteristics. DESIGN:Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES:MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL and Cochrane were searched from inception to 28 January 2025. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:Studies reporting athletics-related musculoskeletal injuries in Olympic Athletics disciplines. RESULTS:From 18 319 identified references, 216 studies were included; 38% of these studies were classified as having low study quality. Data synthesis was performed on 88 studies reporting on all injuries across all Athletics disciplines (21.6% with high study quality). The synthesised prevalence of injured athletes was 11.7% (95% CI 2.0% to 26.9%) for prospective studies only including championship/competition data, and 69.7% (95% CI 52.4% to 84.5%) for prospective studies combining training and competition data. The synthesised injury event incidence rates were 68.8 injuries per 1000 registered athletes (95% CI 39.4 to 120.2) for prospective studies only including championship/competition data, and 4.2 injuries per 1000 athlete-exposures (95% CI 2.1 to 7.7) and 3.8 injuries per 1000 hours of Athletics (95% CI 1.7 to 8.3) for prospective studies combining training and competition data. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation certainty of evidence was 'very low' for all outcomes, and 'low' for the injury event incidence rate per 1000 registered athletes for prospective studies conducted in championship/competition settings. Injuries were mainly located at the thigh, followed by the lower leg, foot and ankle. The main tissue type affected was the muscle, followed by tendon, ligament, skin, bone and joint. CONCLUSIONS:This systematic review with meta-analysis quantified the extent of musculoskeletal injuries in Athletics. Our findings inform future research and healthcare service planning and support targeted injury risk reduction strategies at all levels in Athletics.

Objective To describe the methodological characteristics and content of published hamstring muscle injury (HMI) rehabilitation programmes in order to inform clinical practice and guide future research.Methods We searched the MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus and Web of Science electronic databases, on October 2024, using key terms “hamstring” and “rehabilitation”, with strategies refined after a preliminary search. Eligible studies included English-language publications involving non-surgically managed acute HMI in humans and reporting rehabilitation protocols.Results We included 137 articles. Primary research (43.1%, n=59) included mostly cohort and randomised controlled trials (RCTs); secondary research articles (54.0%, n=74) were predominantly narrative reviews. Overall, 54.7% of studies had a low level of evidence. Only 44.2% of primary research focused on HMI rehabilitation programmes of which 47.8% were RCTs. Rehabilitation programme details were often missing. In the subacute/functional phases, strengthening (78.3%) and stretching (55.6%) were most frequently reported. Return-to-sport criteria were reported in only 43.5% of primary research, often based on pain resolution. Across both primary and secondary research, 40 different rehabilitation strategies were identified, with the most frequently reported being eccentric-based strengthening, flexibility exercises, progressive running and agility protocols. Key gaps included lack of standardisation, under-reporting of programme parameters and limited inclusion of diverse sporting populations.Conclusions Current scientific literature on HMI rehabilitation programmes shows wide variety, limited high-level evidence primary research and under-reporting of key clinical details. More rigorous and inclusive studies are needed to improve the standardisation and clinical applicability of rehabilitation strategies.

OBJECTIVE:To describe the shoulder rotator muscle profiles across healthy, unstable, and athletic contexts and compare the usual peak torque (PT) method and the angular range (AR) method. DESIGN:Retrospective analysis of data collected cross-sectionally. SETTING:Hospital. Each participant participated in isokinetic evaluations of the shoulder rotator muscles at 60°/s (concentric/eccentric) for both shoulders. PARTICIPANTS:A total of 239 participants with a mean age of 24.7 (7.5) years INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:We recorded the PT and AR mean torque by 10°, and we calculated the antagonist/agonist ratios. We used a 2-way repeated measures analysis of variance with a correction for multiplicity to compare laterality (ie, side-to-side) and contexts (ie, no-overhead sports healthy, no-overhead sports with unstable shoulder, overhead sports healthy, and overhead sports with unstable shoulder. RESULTS:Concentric PT of external rotators were significantly lower in no-overhead athletes with shoulder instability than healthy no-overhead athletes (P=.007) and healthy overhead athletes (P=.029). The AR highlighted significant (P<.05) lower concentric external and internal rotator muscles strength: (1) in no-overhead athletes with shoulder instability than in healthy no-overhead athletes; (2) in healthy overhead athletes than in healthy no-overhead athletes; and (3) in no-overhead athletes with shoulder instability than in healthy overhead athletes. No significant difference was observed in the eccentric modality or in the PT/AR ratios. Significant side-to-side differences (P<.05) between dominant and nondominant sides were reported by both PT and AR methods. CONCLUSIONS:Only the concentric muscle profiles differed across context groups. The AR allowed for a more precise detection of shoulder muscle adaptations by identifying unique muscle signatures in the moment-angle relationship. These 10° AR measurements offer complementary information and enhance the clinical utility of isokinetic profiling compared to the traditional PT method.

Combined events are an Athletics discipline with specific and particular challenges for performance and health, supporting the interest of focused research on this discipline, despite concerning a small proportion of athletes. The study aim was to summarize and map the available scientific literature on performance and health of combined events to establish the current level of understanding and identify knowledge gaps that require further investigation. A scoping review was conducted searching peer-reviewed articles dealing with performance and/or health in combined events (i.e., pentathlon, heptathlon or decathlon) on the MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE (via Ovid), Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, from inception to October 13, 2025. In total, 111 articles were included, with 95.5% as primary research, 95.5% using quantitative approach, 22.5% with a level of evidence 1b and 48.6% 2b, and 56.8% with study aim(s) focused on combined events understanding and/or analyzing. 64.0% articles dealt with performance and 59.5% with health, including 23.4% dealing with both. Regarding performance, the majority of articles dealt with performance analysis/tactics/data management (56.3%), followed by physiology (21.1%), and nutrition (11.3%). Regarding health, the majority of articles dealt with injuries (62.1%), followed by physiology (22.7%), illnesses (18.2%), and nutrition (12.1%). These findings (i) can help to suggest some clinical implications for performance enhancement and health protection, and (ii) highlighted the need for continuing research on performance and/or health in combined events, preferably with prospective design, large athletes' sample sizes, focused on underrepresented populations (e.g., women, adolescents, Masters athletes), over one or more Athletics season.

OBJECTIVES:To determine the prevalence of burnout in French female and male professional and semi-professional basketball league coaches, and to explore associations between burnout level and work stressors, perceived stress and depression. DESIGN:Cross-sectional study. METHODS:Professional basketball coaches employed by their respective basketball league teams were contacted to participate on an anonymous basis by completing the following questionnaires: Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Siegrist's Effort-Reward Imbalance questionnaire (ERI), perceived stress at work on a visual analog scale (VAS), and World Health Organization-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5), used as a screening tool for depression. The variables were investigated by descriptive, univariate (chi2 and Fisher tests) and multivariate (logistic regression model) analyses. RESULTS:Eighty nine of the 216 coaches and 216 assistant coaches participated in this study (response rate, 20.6%). 43.8% of coaches reported low subjective Personal Accomplishment, 15.8% high levels of Emotional Exhaustion and 21.4% high levels of Depersonalization. The majority (84.3%) of participants showed no burnout or a single dimension affected, while 12.4% showed 2 dimensions affected and 3.4%, 3 dimensions. 27% showed high perceived occupational stress, 11% experienced high Effort-Reward Imbalance, with high effort and low reward, 17% were at risk of depression, according to the WHO-5 (≤ 32). Burnout was strongly associated with perceived occupational stress (OR = 90.0 [6.9- > 100]; p < 0.0006). CONCLUSIONS:The prevalence of burnout was similar to that reported elsewhere, and was significantly associated with perceived occupational stress. The results confirmed the need for regular medical monitoring of the mental health of basketball coaches.

OBJECTIVES:To explore the injury-inciting situational characteristics of indirect and non-contact muscle injuries in sports, commonly referred to as muscle strains; and to investigate differences and similarities of injury patterns across muscle groups. DATA SOURCES:PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus and Google Scholar. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES:Studies investigating injury-inciting situational characteristics (among others, injury contact mechanisms, joint positions, movement directions) of indirect and non-contact muscle injuries in sports through video recordings. RESULTS:Twenty-one studies reporting the injury-inciting situational characteristics of 728 indirect and non-contact muscle injuries were included. Non-contact mechanisms were more common (74%) than indirect contact mechanisms (26%). Most injuries were either running-related or occurred during sport-specific manoeuvres involving muscle-tendon unit length changes under active muscle contraction. For hamstring injuries, the most frequently reported injury kinematics comprised a knee joint position close to extension (underlying movement direction: flexion to extension) and a flexed hip joint position (underlying movement direction: variable). For adductor injuries, injury kinematics were characterised by rapid muscle lengthening due to hip extension, abduction and external rotation. For rectus femoris injuries, the observed injury kinematic comprised a flexing hip joint movement and extending knee joint movement. For calf injuries, the typical injury pattern comprised an ankle dorsiflexion movement with the knee being close to extension and the ankle in >10° dorsiflexion at the assumed injury time. CONCLUSION:This systematic review found distinct, identifiable injury patterns for indirect and non-contact muscle injuries. While similar situational characteristics were identified across injuries, some patterns were more specific to particular injury locations and sports. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER:PROSPERO registration number CRD42023472252.

Objective Young nulliparous female athletes do not present all of the usual pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) risk factors (eg, ageing, menopause, childbirth), and thus constitute a population for whom management strategies could differ from the general population. We aimed to map the available evidence and gap about epidemiology, aetiology, care and preventive strategies of PFDs in young nulliparous female athletes in athletics.Design Scoping review.Data sources PubMed, Pedro, Embase and Web of Science were searched from inception to 12 January 2026.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies All types of peer-reviewed articles on PFDs in young nulliparous female athletes in athletics.Results 29 articles were included: 14 reviews and 15 original studies. According to the Translating Research into Injury Prevention Practice framework, 24 (83%) articles were classified in stage 1, 23 (79%) in stage 2, 11 (38%) in stage 3, 1 (3%) in stage 5 and none in stages 4 and 6. Prevalence of urinary incontinence ranged from 18.2% to 58.3%. The mechanisms and risk factors of PFDs were complex and inter-related, including a variety of intrinsic factors (eg, eating disorders, low energy availability, behaviour and knowledge), extrinsic factors related to sports practice and environmental factors (eg, relationships with staff, access to education). A significant gap was identified: there are currently no articles nor trials evaluating the efficacy of care or prevention of PFDs.Conclusion PFDs affect a large number of young nulliparous female athletes, with population-specific risk factors and mechanisms, which suggest population-specific care and prevention strategies.

Dans une étude qualitative, nous avons exploré la prévention et la prise en charge des blessures dans le sport de haut niveau au Sénégal, à partir d’une approche de théorie ancrée. Seize acteurs (athlètes, entraîneurs et professionnels de santé) ont été interrogés afin de comprendre leurs pratiques, expériences et perceptions dans un contexte à ressources limitées. Les résultats montraient que la prévention des blessures reposait principalement sur des initiatives individuelles, guidées par l’expérience plutôt que par des cadres structurés. Bien que les acteurs exprimaient une volonté de sensibilisation, les actions préventives restaient majoritairement réactives et émergeaient souvent après la survenue d’une blessure. L’éducation apparaissait comme un levier central pour favoriser l’adhésion des athlètes, mais son intégration dans des routines durables demeurait limitée. La prise en charge des blessures était marquée par un écart important entre recommandations théoriques et réalités de terrain. Les contraintes financières, le faible accès aux soins spécialisés et les limites du système d’assurances conduisaient à une gestion improvisée, souvent prise en charge par les entraîneurs. Cette situation favorisait des retours au sport précoces et peu encadrés. Les décisions de reprise reposaient rarement sur des critères standardisés. Le recours à la médecine traditionnelle était fréquent et la douleur était souvent normalisée. Le contexte sportif était également influencé par des infrastructures précaires, une organisation instable et des barrières socioculturelles, notamment en matière de genre et de santé mentale. L’entraîneur apparaissait comme un acteur central, aux rôles multiples mais insuffisamment soutenu. Ces résultats soulignaient la nécessité de développer des stratégies de prévention contextualisées, accessibles et culturellement adaptées, en vue notamment des Jeux Olympiques de la Jeunesse de Dakar 2026.

PURPOSE:To investigate the effects of an 8-week "periodized high-load" forefoot strengthening protocol on athlete's metatarsophalangeal joints (MTPj) flexion torque, MTPj flexors volume, sprint acceleration, cutting, and jumping overall performance and kinetics. METHODS:Twenty-height highly-trained athletes were randomized into a TRAINING or control group. Following a 4-week control period, TRAINING performed an 8-week forefoot strengthening protocol (2 sessions per week) followed by a 4-week detraining period. CONTROL group athletes were asked to continue their usual activities. During weeks 1, 5, 14 and 18, we assessed MTPj flexion torque, MTPj flexors volume, maximal sprint acceleration, 90-degree cutting, vertical and horizontal jumps, and foot-ankle hops. A linear mixed model was used along with individual statistical analyses using the minimal detectable change (MDC). RESULTS:TRAINING significantly and substantially increased MTPj flexion torque and MTPj flexors volume (effect size [ES]: 1.36-1.96; p < 0.001) with 92% of athletes exceeding the MDC. Subsequently, TRAINING induced significant improvements in cutting and horizontal jumping performance (ES: 0.53-1.14; p < 0.01) with 42-67% of athletes exceeding the MDC. These gains were partly attributed to enhanced medio-lateral ground reaction force transmission during cutting and increased propulsive horizontal force production and transmission during jumping (ES: 0.38-0.57; p < 0.05). Despite no effects on overall sprint acceleration performance, vertical propulsion kinetics at maximal speed improved in TRAINING after intervention (ES: 0.87-1.19; p < 0.01). No significant differences were found between the results of the interventional and detraining period demonstrating potential long-lasting effects. CONCLUSION:An 8-week "periodized high-load" forefoot strengthening protocol allowed to improve MTPj maximal torque and MTPj flexors volume. This strength gains led also to cutting, horizontal jump overall performance and kinetics improvement as well as greater maximal speed propulsion kinetics. MTPj strength capacity may exert a more substantial impact on performance and kinetics on horizontally and medio-lateral-oriented explosive movements than on vertically-oriented ones.

Introduction La périostite tibiale, ou syndrome de stress tibial médial (SSTM), est une pathologie courante chez les sportifs. Elle se traduit par des douleurs déclenchées ou aggravées par l’effort, à l’origine d’une réduction de la capacité d’entraînement et associée à un risque important de récidive. L’objectif de notre étude était de décrire les prises en charge de la périostite tibiale chez l’athlète. Méthodes Nous avons conduit une étude rétrospective qui a inclus des athlètes compétiteurs en athlétisme ayant présenté un épisode de périostite tibiale au cours des 12 derniers mois. Les données ont été recueillies via un questionnaire en ligne anonyme portant sur les caractéristiques individuelles, les modalités de prise en charge de la périostite tibiale, l’appréhension à la récidive (noté de : 0=je n’y pense pas du tout, à 10=j’y pense tous les jours) et la progressivité du retour au sport. Résultats Quarante athlètes pratiquant la compétition ont été inclus dans cette étude. La majorité avait bénéficié de plusieurs modalités de traitement, incluant la kinésithérapie (n=29 ; 73 %), les appareillages (n=28 ; 70 %) et la modification d’entraînement (n=34 ; 85 %). Concernant les traitements physiques, ils avaient bénéficié pour la plupart de renforcement musculaire du mollet (n=27 ; 68 %), de stabilisateurs de hanche (n=20 ; 50 %), de massages (n=20 ; 50 %) et d’une rééducation de l’équilibre (n=19 ; 48 %). Le taux de récidive global dans les 12 mois était de 58 % (n=23). L’appréhension de la récidive était notée en moyenne à 6,0±2,4 sur 10. Le retour au sport était progressif chez 95 % des athlètes (n=38). Conclusion Nos résultats mettaient en lumière les nombreuses prises en charge de la périostite tibiale chez l’athlète avec des proportions variables. Le renforcement musculaire, l’adaptation de l’activité, les orthèses plantaires et le massage avec ou sans l’aide de crème anti-inflammatoire restaient les méthodes les plus largement utilisées. Cette étude soulignait donc l’intérêt potentiel d’une standardisation des protocoles, d’une coordination pluridisciplinaire, et de travaux prospectifs sur la périostite tibiale chez les athlètes.

Introduction Les exercices de renforcement musculaire ont fait leurs preuves pour réduire le risque de blessures en sports collectifs. Néanmoins, les programmes non supervisés, souvent proposés en sports individuels, semblent moins efficaces, voire inefficaces pour diminuer ce risque. L’« exercise fidelity » correspond à la capacité à réaliser un exercice fidèlement par rapport aux consignes. Une « exercise fidelity » insuffisante pourrait être une explication au manque d’efficacité des programmes non supervisés. Objectifs L’objectif principal de cette étude était d’évaluer l’« exercise fidelity » lors de la réalisation d’exercices de renforcement musculaire chez des athlètes. L’objectif secondaire était de mesurer l’évolution de l’« exercise fidelity » au cours de trois semaines de supervision ainsi que l’influence du feedback sur l’« exercise fidelity ». Matériel et méthodes Nous avons réalisé une étude prospective durant cinq semaines incluant sept sujets pratiquant l’athlétisme en compétition. Les athlètes ont été filmés lors de la réalisation de six exercices de renforcement musculaire : squat à une jambe sur plan incliné, gainage en planche (plank), fentes avant (lunge), descente du talon (heel drop), exercice d’adducteurs de Copenhagen et exercice d’ischio-jambiers nordiques. L’« exercise fidelity » a été évaluée grâce à un score de 0 à 100 % ; un score de 100 % indiquait que tous les critères prédéterminés avaient été respectés pour l’ensemble des répétitions. L’évolution de l’« exercise fidelity » a été évaluée par un test de Friedman. Résultats L’« exercise fidelity » mesurée était en moyenne de 88,8±12,5 % pour l’ensemble des exercices. Les feedbacks amélioraient de manière significative l’« exercise fidelity » au cours de la première semaine (p<0,05), mais cette différence n’était pas retrouvée ensuite. Discussion Notre travail a rapporté, pour la population d’athlètes pratiquant l’athlétisme régulièrement et en compétition, une très bonne capacité à réaliser les exercices. Les feedbacks permettaient d’améliorer encore cette capacité lors de la première réalisation.