Wearable technology in the sports medicine clinic to guide the return-to-play and performance protocols of athletes following a COVID-19 diagnosis

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has enabled the adoption of digital health platforms for self-monitoring and diagnosis. Notably, the pandemic has had profound effects on athletes and their ability to train and compete. Sporting organizations worldwide have reported a significant increase in injuries manifesting from changes in training regimens and match schedules resulting from extended quarantines. While current literature focuses on the use of wearable technology to monitor athlete workloads to guide training, there is a lack of literature suggesting how such technology can mediate the return to sport processes of athletes infected with COVID-19. This paper bridges this gap by providing recommendations to guide team physicians and athletic trainers on the utility of wearable technology for improving the well-being of athletes who may be asymptomatic, symptomatic, or tested negative but have had to quarantine due to a close exposure. We start by describing the physiologic changes that occur in athletes infected with COVID-19 with extended deconditioning from a musculoskeletal, psychological, cardiopulmonary, and thermoregulatory standpoint and review the evidence on how these athletes may safely return to play. We highlight opportunities for wearable technology to aid in the return-to-play process by offering a list of key parameters pertinent to the athlete affected by COVID-19. This paper provides the athletic community with a greater understanding of how wearable technology can be implemented in the rehabilitation process of these athletes and spurs opportunities for further innovations in wearables, digital health, and sports medicine to reduce injury burden in athletes of all ages. © The Author(s) 2023

Wearable Computing for Health and Fitness: Exploring the Relationship between Data and Human Behaviour

Health and fitness wearable technology has recently advanced, making it easier for an individual to monitor their behaviours. Previously self generated data interacts with the user to motivate positive behaviour change, but issues arise when relating this to long term mention of wearable devices. Previous studies within this area are discussed. We also consider a new approach where data is used to support instead of motivate, through monitoring and logging to encourage reflection. Based on issues highlighted, we then make recommendations on the direction in which future work could be most beneficial

Taking ventilatory measurements out of the lab and into the field

BACKGROUND: Measuring ventilation has priorly been limited to physiological laboratory testing, but now wearables allow for measuring in filed settings. The aim of the study was 1) to quantify breathing rate (BR) response during typical training sessions performed by elite endurance athletes, 2) to investigate if breathing rate responds differently than heart rate during two different standardized field sessions in a group of elite cyclists, 3) to investigate the potential implementation of breathing rate as a practical measurement in training for intensity monitoring in cycling. METHODS: Heart rate (HR), BR and power output were quantified in 11 professional cyclists from the Uno-X Pro Cycling Team during at home training and two training camps in Spain during a 6-month period. The participants executed two standardized filed sessions, measuring their internal responses with wearable devices, in addition to power output. RESULTS: Significant increases in HR and BR were observed during the 5x10-minute session, and only significant HR increase during the 7x7-minuets session. Both variables showed tendencies of mean increases in relation to increases in power output in the 7x7-session. HR decreased (180 ± 7 to 177 ± 6) as workload decreased in the 5x10-session, while BR remained the same (59 ± 10 to 59 ± 9). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that measuring BR during exercise and can provide valuable information for intensity monitoring in cycling training. These findings suggest that BR could be a practical measurement for monitoring intensity during cycling training, and further research is recommended to explore its optimal applications. KEYWORDS: Endurance, professional cyclist, breathing rate, heart rate, wearables, training intensity monitoring, practical application

Cricket fast bowler monitoring and workload management

The sport of cricket is challenged by three formats of the game; each with varying workload demands. The most recent format is T20 cricket, first played internationally in 2005. Further to this, elite performers are often required to play for upwards of four different professional teams across the year; increasing the complexities in player workload management and other sports science-related support. Fast bowlers have greater overall match-play demands than other playing positions in cricket. Wearable microtechnology for tracking external load in athletes is common practice. Despite microtechnology enabling meaningful analyses of workload beyond routinely reported metrics, little application has occurred within fast bowling. The high injury risk in fast bowlers is well established, yet the intensive demands on these athletes remain poorly understood. The overall aim of this program of research was to use scientific literature to first understand the interaction of workload, injury and performance in elite level fast bowlers and then improve the understanding of workload management using advances in wearable microtechnology. The program of research in this thesis “with publication” first generated studies identifying the problem (a systematic review). The four subsequent chapters of original research built on the review to profile the match-play and training demands of cricketers, explore the variability of wearable microtechnology outputs during fast bowling, and finally develop and quantify an innovative means to monitor and manage workload within the specific demands of fast bowling in cricket. Although monitoring acute and chronic workloads of fast bowlers remains the most ideal method for identifying preparedness and injury likelihood in fast bowlers, complexities exist that make the systematic prescription of bowling workloads difficult. The results confirmed that the external load of cricket match-play and training varied between fast bowlers and non-fast bowlers. Furthermore, external loads experienced by 26 elite performing cricketers differentially affected the neuromuscular, endocrine, and perceptual fatigue responses of these players. Outputs from wearable microtechnology provided adequate stability across the performance of elite fast bowlers. These outputs were comparable with routinely used measures of fast bowling performance and intensity. Algorithms linking microtechnology outputs demonstrated good sensitivity in detecting fast bowling events in elite cricketers across competition (99.5%) and training (99.0%). The specificity of detecting fast bowling events decreased in competition (74.0%) however, remained high during training (98.1%). With the ability to automatically detect fast bowling events, metrics of bowling intensity can be explored more rigorously. Outputs from the gyroscope and accelerometers in the wearable technology provided strong associations with prescribed bowling intensity. Collectively, this thesis has highlighted the challenges of applied research in cricket, and more specifically the capacity to more objectively monitor external load in cricket fast bowlers. Wearable microtechnology has the potential to advance and refine measures of bowling workload and provide a greater depth of support for cricket fast bowlers

Wearables and Internet of Things (IoT) Technologies for Fitness Assessment: A Systematic Review

Wearable and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in sports open a new era in athlete?s training, not only for performance monitoring and evaluation but also for fitness assessment. These technologies rely on sensor systems that collect, process and transmit relevant data, such as biomark ers and/or other performance indicators that are crucial to evaluate the evolution of the athlete?s condition, and therefore potentiate their performance. This work aims to identify and summarize recent studies that have used wearables and IoT technologies and discuss its applicability for fitness assessment. A systematic review of electronic databases (WOS, CCC, DIIDW, KJD, MEDLINE, RSCI, SCIELO, IEEEXplore, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane and Web of Science) was undertaken according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. From the 280 studies initially identified, 20 were fully examined in terms of hardware and software and their applicability for fitness assessment. Results have shown that wearable and IoT technologies have been used in sports not only for fitness assessment but also for monitoring the athlete?s internal and external workloads, employing physiological status monitoring and activity recognition and tracking techniques. However, the maturity level of such technologies is still low, particularly with the need for the acquisition of more?and more effective?biomarkers regarding the athlete?s internal workload, which limits its wider adoption by the sports community.4811-99FE-2ECD | Luis Paulo RodriguesN/

Incorporating End-User Feedback in the Development and Validation of a Smart Textile for assessing Sports Training and Performance

Objectives: The aims of the research project were to explore the need and desire of a new sport wearable within applied practice by creating dialogue with the end-users. Furthermore, the research project sets out to quantify the reliability and validity a new sports wearable, KiTT (Knitted intelligent Textile Tracker), against the current gold-standard three-dimensional motion-analysis counter-part. Methods: Study 1 will utilise semi-structured interviews to create dialogue between the researcher and end-users. This will help provide an image into the current use of technology within applied practice. Furthermore, study 2 will capture and calculate the relative knee angles from KiTT’s raw resistance, and compare the results to that of Vicon, where reliability and validity will be assessed; this is imperative before task-specific research. Results: Study 1 identified a need, and requirement for new sport wearables, specifically in the form of e-textiles. This would enable end-users to adopt technology into their work, potentially enhancing their output. In addition, study 2 suggests that KiTT serves as a valid and reliable tool at recording relative knee angle across five commonly used sporting exercises, with high degrees of accuracy. Conclusion: End-users stated a need and requirement for technology such as KiTT to be created for adoption within their practice. Current systems are often inaccessible and can lead to performance losses. KiTT serves as a valid alternative to motion-capture, whilst offering more benefits to the user (cost-friendly, easy to use, and portable). When investigating an individual’s relative knee angle, KiTT should be considered especially in specific testing conditions

The Applied Use of Wearable Technology in Elite Female Ice Hockey

Introduction: The use of wearable technology is increasing in the world of elite sport. The incorporation of evidence-based approaches to training has become a critical component in many competitive sports, including ice hockey. Despite its global popularity, ice hockey remains a neglected area of applied sport science research. Objective: (1) To investigate the applied use of wearable technology in world-class female ice hockey; (2) build a strong foundation of applied literature using elite female subjects in an under-researched sport; and (3) provide information to sports science practitioners and coaches to better inform the preparation of athletes. Methods: This study involved retrospective, secondary data analysis of four years of on-ice training and competition sessions from Hockey Canadas National Womens Team. Chapter three (Manuscript One) focuses on one full season of data and compares forwards and defensive players in various measures of internal and external load. Chapter four (Manuscript Two) uses data from one pre-season to investigate the differences in on-ice external load between sub-elite and elite female athletes. Chapter five (Manuscript Three) uses competition data to determine the differences in external load measures based on match outcome. Results: The first major finding was that there were differences in both internal and external load measures between training and competition. Forwards had both higher volumes and intensities than defense in both training and competition. Furthering our understanding of the on-ice demands of training and competition, it was found that apparent differences exist between sub-elite and elite athletes in measures of external load. Elite ice hockey players had significantly higher measures for intensity-based measures of external load. The importance of on-ice intensity was additionally supported by examining external load measures in relation to match outcome. Conclusions: This is the first study that investigated the use of wearable technology in elite female ice hockey. This data provides a solid groundwork for the continued pursuit of applied sports science in ice hockey. Each of the studies contributes to the existing evidence of athlete monitoring and athlete preparation using wearable technology and the study of elite female athletes