Human Movement Monitoring in Sport: Integrating Muscle Mechanics, Biomechanics and Wearable Technologies

Human movement is a complex phenomenon resulting from the interaction between neuromuscular, mechanical, physiological, and environmental factors. Recent technological advances have enabled increasingly sophisticated monitoring of these interactions through GPS/GNSS systems, local positioning systems, inertial measurement units, force platforms, motion capture systems, ultrasonography, shear wave elastography, and electromyography. These technologies have become central to performance assessment, training prescription, injury prevention, and return-to-play decision-making across a wide range of sporting contexts.Despite these advances, important questions remain regarding the validity, reliability, interpretation, and integration of monitoring metrics. Furthermore, the translation of laboratory-derived biomechanical insights into applied sporting environments remains a key challenge. Research that bridges these domains is essential to improve our understanding of human movement and optimize athlete management.The rapid evolution of athlete monitoring technologies has transformed our ability to quantify human movement in both training and competition environments. From wearable tracking systems and inertial sensors to force platforms, ultrasonography, and electromyography, practitioners and researchers now have access to unprecedented volumes of biomechanical and physiological data. However, significant challenges remain regarding the integration, interpretation, and practical application of these measurements to enhance performance, reduce injury risk, and support rehabilitation processes.This Research Topic aims to bring together multidisciplinary research focused on the monitoring and assessment of human movement in sport. Particular emphasis will be placed on studies integrating biomechanical assessments, muscle mechanical properties, neuromuscular function, and wearable technologies to better understand movement behaviour, physical performance, fatigue, adaptation, and recovery. By fostering collaboration between biomechanists, sport scientists, clinicians, and practitioners, this collection seeks to advance evidence-based approaches to athlete monitoring and human movement analysis.The Research Topic welcomes contributions addressing a broad range of themes related to the monitoring and assessment of human movement in sport, health, and rehabilitation contexts. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:- Human movement analysis in sport and exercise settings.- Biomechanical monitoring of athletic performance.- Applications of GPS/GNSS, local positioning systems, and other tracking technologies.- Wearable technologies for athlete monitoring and performance assessment.- Acceleration, deceleration, and locomotor profiling.- Biomechanical determinants of sprinting and high-speed locomotion.- Muscle mechanical properties, muscle architecture, and neuromuscular performance.- Ultrasound-based approaches for the assessment of muscle and tendon characteristics.- Neuromuscular function, fatigue monitoring, and recovery assessment.- Force-platform methodologies and performance diagnostics.- Motion capture technologies and movement quality evaluation.- Biomechanical approaches to injury prevention, rehabilitation, and return-to-play processes.- Integration of biomechanical, physiological, and performance monitoring systems.- Validation, reliability, and methodological developments in human movement monitoring technologies.- Data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence applications in biomechanics and athlete monitoring.The collection encourages submissions from individual and team sports, as well as clinical, health, and rehabilitation settings. Contributions that integrate technological innovation with practical applications to improve the assessment, monitoring, and optimization of human movement are particularly encouraged. Topic editors: Ricardo Pimenta, Pedro Fonseca, Fábio Yuzo Nakamura Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82290/human-movement-monitoring-in-sport-integrating-muscle-mechanics-biomechanics-and-wearable-technologies