In recent years there has been an exponential rise in the professionalism and success of female sports. Practitioners (e.g., sport science professionals) aim to apply evidence-informed approaches to optimise athlete performance and well-being. Evidence-informed practices should be derived from research literature. Given the lack of research on elite female athletes, this is challenging at present. This limits the ability to adopt an evidence-informed approach when working in female sports, and as such, we are likely failing to maximize the performance potential of female athletes. This article discusses the challenges of applying an evidence base derived from male athletes to female athletes. A conceptual framework is presented, which depicts the need to question the current (male) evidence base due to the differences of the “female athlete” and the “female sporting environment,” which pose a number of challenges for practitioners working in the field. Until a comparable applied sport science research evidence base is established in female athletes, evidence-informed approaches will remain a challenge for those working in female sport.

BackgroundIn recent years the popularity of disabled sports and competition among disabled athletes has grown considerably. With this rise in exposure of, and participation in wheelchair sports comes an increase in related stressors, including musculoskeletal load. External mechanical loading may increase the risk of shoulder complaints. The objective of this literature review was to 1) identify and describe the prevalence and/or incidence of shoulder complaints in wheelchair athletes in the literature, to 2) examine the factors and underlying mechanisms that could be potentially involved, and 3) provide some insights into the development of preventative measures.MethodsA literature search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus and Embase databases, to identify relevant published articles. All articles in the English language that contained any type of shoulder complaint in relation with a wheelchair sports player, at any level of status (recreational to elite), of any sport, were included. Articles were excluded if they did not include any statistical analysis. Articles that included studies with wheelchair athletes in combination with athletes of other disability sports were excluded in order to be able to differentiate between the two. Narrative, exploratory and case studies were also excluded. Two reviewers independently assessed articles for inclusion. Thirteen articles matched the selection criteria. These were judged on their quality by use of an adapted version of the Webster checklist.ResultsOf the included studies the overall quality was low. A relatively high prevalence of complaints was found, ranging from 16% to 76%. Pain was found to be a common complaint in wheelchair athletes. Based on the current literature the cause of shoulder problems is difficult to identify and is likely multifactorial, nevertheless characteristics of the user (i.e. increased years of disability, age and BMI) were shown to increase risk. Preventative measures were indistinct. There may be a role for balanced strength training regimens to decrease risk.ConclusionShoulder complaints in wheelchair athletes are a common problem that must be addressed further. Future studies on shoulder overuse injuries of wheelchair athletes should be directed towards biomechanical modeling to develop knowledge of load and its effects.

Female sports have recently seen a dramatic rise in participation and professionalism world-wide. Despite progress, the infrastructure and general sport science provisions in many female sports are behind their male counterparts. From a performance perspective, marked differences in physical and physiological characteristics can be seen between the sexes. Although physical preparation practices for male athletes are known, there are currently no published literature pertaining exclusively to female athletes. This information would provide invaluable data for both the researcher and practitioner alike. This survey therefore aimed to examine current practices utilized in female rugby codes (union, league, and sevens). A questionnaire assessing seasonal physical preparation practices, recovery, monitoring and sport science technology, and unique aspects in female rugby was developed. Thirty-seven physical preparation practitioners (32 males, 5 females) responded to the questionnaire. Most participants (78%) worked with national or regional/state level female athletes. Performance testing was more frequently assessed in the pre- (97%) and in-season (86%), than off-season (23%). Resistance, cardiovascular, sprint and plyometric training, and recovery sessions were all believed to be important to enhancing performance and implemented by most participants (≥ 89%). Sport science technologies were commonly (54%) utilized to inform current practice. Menstrual cycle phase was monitored by 22% of practitioners. The most frequently reported unique considerations in female rugby codes included psycho-social aspects (41%), the menstrual cycle (22%), and physical differences (22%). Practitioners working with female rugby can use the presented data to inform and develop current practices.