The latest information in sports science and sports management

Even though environmental pollution is one of the most concerning problems in society, scientific research on how pollution affects professional sport has just taken its first steps. There are several studies about how the environment affects workers and the general population, but athletes are not often the subjects of study even though their inhalation is greater during physical activity. The only fact documented is that exposure to emissions causes oxidative stress and inflammation in the cardiovascular system in the long term.

Football injuries are generally either acute or cumulative. Acute injuries are “traumatic”, for example, as a result of a fall, blow or collision. Cumulative injuries are those in which repetitive stress on a muscle, joint or connective tissue triggers progressively worsening aches, pain and physical impairment. Knowing how and why football injuries occur is the first step to preventing them. Today we will review the most common injuries such as to the knee, the ankle and the hamstring.

In team sports, the game is possible only if we count on our teammates, if you can achieve high levels of interaction with them and the commitment to an inevitable team participation that should transform the individual meaning of winning. So, the collective culture of the game emerges where the interpersonal relationships are confirmed, identifying different communication codes and emotional links with the team members.

Nobody calls into question that exercising is beneficial for our health. Besides, these benefits are multisystem, which means that they affect the many systems of our body in a coordinated way (e.g., cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, etc.) One of these systems is the immune one, divided into the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. Among many other functions, these systems are in charge of protecting us against infections, and their importance has been proven during the COVID-19 pandemic. But, how does exercise affect our immune system?

In team sports, playing time that players enjoy in competition is a limited resource which is highly valued by athletes. In handball, for example, the coach should distribute 420 minutes of playing time (60 minutes per game x 7 players) among at least 16 players, which means an average of just 26 minutes per player. In football, the 990 minutes (90 minutes x 11 players) should be distributed among over 25 athletes. In this case, footballers should settle with a maximum average of 40 minutes per game. As a consequence of this fact, intrateam rivalry and fight for playing time are prominent characteristics in elite team sports.

Sport technology used to mean connected stadiums, wearable trackers, performance analytics and software for player management. During 2020, the COVID pandemic drove the uptake of online fitness and health with the rise of Peloton, Zoom based fitness and yoga classes. With this new trend towards “connected fitness”, how should traditional sports clubs prioritize their investments in sports technology?

Until the arrival of internet and the viral phenomenon it was enough with a photo created by the iconic stadium. It usually happened to be its exterior façade. Today, new stadium architecture searches for visibility adding details that not only meet their main end, but also are able to have an impact on online channels.

Marketing specialists claim that from 2022 it will no longer be useful to plan sports sponsorship taking the fans as a benchmark. This is because of a change the pandemic has accelerated: the relationship of the public with the teams, sports and sports events. Today, only 25% of the population claims to be followers of a team. The proportion goes up to 50% when considering the ones who follow a specific sport instead of a club. But it only occupies the mass percentage of the old fans, 80%, in the general category of sports fans.

Gut microbiota (collection of bacteria living in the human gut) has received special attention in the last years due to the numerous studies that link its functioning with health. Thus, dysbiosis of the gut microbiota (this is, alteration in the composition or functioning of such bacteria), which can happen due to multiple factors such as poor nutrition, high levels of stress or antibiotics overuse, is linked to the development of numerous metabolic and inflammatory pathologies.