Dr Maria Constantinou

Introduction: Neuromuscular training can help to prevent musculoskeletal injury among sports populations; however, it requires further investigation with military recruits. This study investigated whether six weeks of neuromuscular training, compared with usual training, leads to fewer lower limb injuries among New Zealand Army recruits undertaking basic training.
Methods: This double-blind cluster-randomized controlled trial included army recruits from two consecutive intakes. Recruits received six weeks of neuromuscular or usual training two to five times per week. The primary outcome was incidence of lower limb injuries during basic training. Secondary outcomes included total health care encounters for injury, occupational endpoint achieved, and accumulated light-duty days because of injury.
Results: Participants were 248 recruits (228 males, 20 females, mean age = 20.28 years). Cumulative injury incidence in the control and neuromuscular training groups was 63.2% and 52.8%, respectively ( p = 0.10). There was no between-groups difference in average number of injuries per recruit (control = 1.31, intervention = 1.10, p = 0.22). Average total health care encounters for injury per recruit was higher in the control group (control, mean = 4.83 intervention, mean = 3.45, p = 0.041). No statistically significant difference was found in occupational endpoint achieved ( p = 0.21). Accumulated light-duty days totaled 964 and 725 in the control and intervention groups respectively ( p = 0.10).
Discussion: Simple, low-cost neuromuscular lower limb exercises did not change overall injury incidence but lowered number of health care encounters for injuries sustained by New Zealand Army recruits during basic training. Lay Summary Recruits undertaking military basic training experience a high incidence of musculoskeletal injury. The authors conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial to investigate whether a six-week neuromuscular training program would lead to fewer lower limb injuries among New Zealand Army recruits. Although neuromuscular training had no influence on the number of recruits presenting for injury or the overall number of injuries, the training resulted in fewer overall health care encounters for lower limb injury and knee injury and fewer shin and calf injuries. Further research is needed to determine whether starting a neuromuscular training program before basic training or extending it throughout an intake leads to fewer recruit lower limb injuries and associated burdens.

Sports Physiotherapy is a specialised area of practice requiring specific competencies and standards to be met. The initial Sports Physiotherapy Competencies and Standards at the international level were first developed in 2005. With the sports physiotherapy landscape evolving, ensuring the currency and an update of the 2005 competencies was important. Through the SportsComp project (Higher Education to Improve Competency in Sports Physiotherapy) funded by an Erasmus+ grant, a consortium of five partners, including the International Sports and Exercise Physiotherapy Assocation, updated these competencies and standards. Using a three-phase process that incorporated perspectives from experienced sports physiotherapists including a Delphi study, a qualitative study of focus groups and interviews of stakeholders, and a consensus meeting of expert sports physiotherapy researchers and educators, the International Sports Physiotherapy Competencies and Standards (2025) (“the Competencies”) were finalized. The final competencies are at a Master’s level, and are contemporary and relevant to the current context of the practice of sports physiotherapy. The knowledge and behaviors to be demonstrated and standards to be achieved are able to be implemented in sports physiotherapy career pathways internationally. An overview of the key changes in the Competencies is presented and the full list of the Competencies are included as Supplementary Material.

The ACTIVATE consensus aimed to develop recommendations for assessing, prescribing and promoting physical activity when healthcare professionals consult patients with non-communicable diseases in clinical practice. We developed the consensus through a comprehensive, multistep approach including 27 experts with professionally diverse backgrounds from 13 different countries, including three patient representatives. Initially, we conducted a survey at the World Congress for Sport Physical Therapy in 2022 to document the need for a consensus, which was followed up by development of a conceptual framework with guiding principles and research questions at a stakeholder meeting. We subsequently conducted three rapid umbrella reviews, covering the existing scientific literature to inform the statements for a Delphi survey. The Delphi survey involved two voting rounds (email survey) and one face-to-face (online) round. Finally, we identified recommendations on how to assess, prescribe and promote physical activity through consensus. We recommend routine physical activity assessments using quick and easy tools, documenting physical activity levels and providing tailored prescriptions for patients not meeting WHO guidelines for physical activity. Furthermore, the ACTIVATE consensus highlights the necessity for regular follow-ups to facilitate patients’ integration of physical activity into their daily routines, to enhance overall well-being and quality of life.

Surfing is increasing in popularity with rising professionalism in the sport. While sex-specific differences in skill, physical performance, and injury profiles are recognised across various sports,their presence in surfing remains unclear. This review collates the available evidence on sex-specific skill, physical performance, and injury profiles in surfers, to explore any evidence gapsand to recommend focus areas for future research. Five databases (Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHLComplete, SPORTDiscus, and MEDLINE Complete) were searched from inception toNovember 2025. Studies that investigated surfing skill, physical performance or injury profiles inboth male and female participants were included. Of 4729 studies identified, 50 met the inclusioncriteria. These included 10 studies on surfing skills, 17 on physical performance, and 32 on injuryprofiles. Studies included outcome measures with sex-specific comparisons for skill (70%), physicalperformance (64%) and injury (19%). Overall, sex comparisons were made consistently in five (14%)outcome measures across all study concepts. Limited research on sex-specific injury profiles restricts the development of injury prevention strategies for female surfers. As the literature evolves in surfing, researchers should maximise the value of their data by reporting on sex-specific differences, appropriately normalising values (where necessary) and utilising consistent testing approaches