Sports Medicine

Functional stability training meaningfully reduces lower-limb injury risk when athletes actually do the program

This meta-analysis of 37 randomized and cluster-randomized trials (36,385 athletes) found functional stability training reduced lower-limb injury risk by 30% (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.63–0.78). Each 10% increase in adherence was associated with an additional 10% injury-risk reduction, underscoring the primacy of implementation and compliance. Multicomponent programs outperformed single-component protocols (RR 0.67 vs 0.85), and delivering sessions at least twice weekly was more effective than once weekly. FIFA 11+ and non–FIFA 11+ programs were similarly effective, but overall certainty was rated low, so clinicians should apply findings pragmatically rather than dogmatically. 1

Resistance training produces large strength gains and modest body-composition benefits in women at all ages

This systematic review and meta-analysis pooled 126 trials including 4,019 healthy women, two-thirds postmenopausal with a mean age around 51 years. Resistance training produced large strength gains in both premenopausal (SMD 1.50) and postmenopausal women (SMD 1.46), with no difference by menopausal status. Functional mass increased and fat mass decreased similarly in both groups, with no significant subgroup differences by age or menopause. Meta-regression found no association between outcomes and age, training duration, frequency, or total sessions, suggesting broad benefit across conventional programming ranges. 2

Leukocyte-rich PRP improves specific MRI features in chronic tennis elbow but is not globally superior to saline

In this double-blind randomized trial, 71 patients with chronic lateral epicondylitis received leukocyte-rich PRP, leukocyte-poor PRP, or saline injection. All groups showed significant MRI improvements in tendon structure and muscle edema at six months, indicating substantial non-specific or natural-healing effects. Leukocyte-rich PRP showed a clear advantage in reducing partial tendon tear size and soft-tissue edema compared with saline, with leukocyte-poor PRP intermediate. However, PRP did not outperform saline for tendinosis resolution or muscle edema, so expectations should focus on targeted structural rather than global superiority. 3

Lowering tackle height in professional rugby protects ball-carriers more than tacklers, creating a protection paradox

This prospective Super League study captured 56 concussions and 4,632 head-acceleration events from 23,081 tackles in 92 players using instrumented mouthguards. Ball-carriers had the highest concussion and head-acceleration risk with head/neck contact, whereas tackler risk varied less by tackle height. Monte Carlo simulations showed that lower tackle-height distributions reduced ball-carrier concussions and head-acceleration events but sometimes increased tackler head-acceleration exposure. Across both roles, only some lower-tackle distributions reduced lower-to-moderate magnitude events, with little change in concussions or ≥55 g events, illustrating trade-offs for policy. 4