Projects / Programmes
KINESIOLOGY OF MONOSTRUCTURAL, POLYSTRUCTURAL AND CONVENTIONAL SPORTS
January 1, 2022
- December 31, 2027
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.10.00 |
Social sciences |
Sport |
|
| 5.01.00 |
Social sciences |
Educational studies |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 3.03 |
Medical and Health Sciences |
Health sciences |
| 5.03 |
Social Sciences |
Educational sciences |
Physical activity, sport performance, athletic success, health, biomechanics, sports medicine, technique, tactics, measurement technology, wearable technology, exercise, overload, injury prevention, injury risk
Data for the last 5 years (citations for the last 10 years) on
September 27, 2024;
A3 for period
2018-2022
| Database |
Linked records |
Citations |
Pure citations |
Average pure citations |
| WoS |
482 |
5,119 |
4,249 |
8.82 |
| Scopus |
496 |
6,194 |
5,270 |
10.63 |
Researchers (23)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The research programme will be dedicated to the study of physical activity relative to both sport performance and health. The primary focus on research into elite sport and sport performance is highly important for Slovenia because the country is internationally recognised for its achievements in sport, while also boosting the national self-confidence of Slovenians. Studies in elite sport are subject to continuous development and encompass knowledge of the limits of human abilities. Our multidisciplinary approach will include areas of improvement of both internal and external factors of sport performance. Using new and enhanced biomechanical approaches, we will contribute to new improvements in technical and tactical knowledge in sports. Concurrently, we will investigate training processes to improve motor and physiological abilities, while identifying physical characteristics that are important for success. Due to the high risk of injuries in sport, we will dedicate our work to reducing the risk of injury, preventive physical activity, and the health status of athletes. We will continue investigating asymmetries of the body and movement that are interesting in terms of both health and sport performance. The consequences of reduced physical activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic will be studied. The "golden standard" measurement technology will be used for laboratory and field measurements, as both methods are typical for research in sport. Participation in the development of portable technologies will gain ground with appropriate scientific approaches and pave the way for breakthroughs in sports science (e.g. stretchable sensor patches communicating via fat tissue, smaller and lighter GNSS system, miniature biometric sensors), in special cases also using artificial intelligence. The socialisation processes and the impact of social factors on engagement in sport will also be studied. Comprehensive multidisciplinary approaches will facilitate the study of complex motor situations/tasks in different sports. Based on the results obtained, we will indirectly and directly (education of experts) increase the quality of preparation of elite and younger athletes, while also reducing the risk of injury. Good knowledge, monitoring and improvement of training processes at the highest level of human abilities, with simultaneous care for health and reducing the risk of injury of elite athletes will be transposed, with suitable adaptations, to the general population as part of the physical activity and health objective. The study will encompass the positive effects of physical activity and interventions for maintaining and improving health, including e.g. preventive exercise for preventing injuries and screening tests for the identification of groups at higher risk of injury. The positive effects of physical activity will also be studied in patients with chronic non-contagious diseases and/or injuries and defects of the limbs.
Significance for science
The results of the research programme will contribute to development of sport science from two fundamental aspects: physical activity relative to sport performance and physical activity relative to health. This includes development in the areas of sport training, sport biomechanics, sport medicine, learning and controlling movement, expert modelling, new measurement technologies and measurement procedures. Our programme group is the only one in Slovenia to study elite sport at the fundamental level, including the limits of human abilities. Knowledge of maximum human abilities and the ways leading to it, while taking into account the minimum levels of risk of injury and negative impact on health status, has a direct impact on all areas of physical activity. Therefore, good knowledge of the above is all the more important for science. The planned multidisciplinary approaches and comprehensive study of sports in a multitude of their manifestations facilitate a comprehensive understanding of human movement. With its orientation, the programme group will develop primarily the applied science and/or basic science that can directly be transposed to solve real problems. In greater detail, the programme dedicated to physical activity and sport performance will add to the development of sport science in terms of improving both the internal and external factors of sport performance. The results of the study of internal factors will be seen in improved technical and tactical knowledge, the identification of most appropriate physical characteristics, motor and physiological abilities, along with a lower risk of injury. The results of the study of external factors will be visible in the launching of new wearable technologies (e.g. stretchable smart sensor patches that communicate one with another via the fat tissue, smaller and lighter high-precision GNSS system, miniature biometric sensors) that ensure new breakthroughs in sport science, particularly ones that also use artificial intelligence. Development of science in the field of the humanities will also encompass new findings relative to socialisation processes and the impact of social factors on engagement in sport. Based on the results, we will be able to directly and indirectly increase the quality of preparation of elite athletes and athletes in younger age categories, while also reducing the risk of injury. Indirectly, this will add to the social recognisability and value of their achievements. Athletes' sports achievements, especially elite ones, have besides a financial/economic value also a high social, ethical and moral value for the country's recognisability. Also highly important is the knowledge acquired from the education and training of human resources in sport, as the level of knowledge is constantly increasing. This is where engagement of the programme group of the Faculty of Sport is critical as it plays a pivotal educational role in the area of human resources in sport. At the same time, the programme group members participate in many different training programmes as well as expert bodies of different sport associations, which adds to the relevance of the acquired knowledge. Good knowledge, monitoring and improvement of training processes at the highest level of human abilities, along with concurrent care for health and a lower risk of injury of elite athletes, are of the utmost importance also for disseminating knowledge to the general population as part of the physical activity and health objective. The results will be visible in the positive effects of physical activities and interventions aimed at maintaining and improving health (primary prevention). The above also includes e.g. advancements in preventive physical activities aimed at preventing injuries and the new screening tests for the identification of groups at a higher risk of injury. Worth noting in relation to health (secondary and tertiary prevention) is the advancement of knowledge about physical activities that has a positive effect on e.g. patients with chronic non-contagious diseases and/or injuries and defects in the limbs. The general orientation of the programme group members to collaboration/networking with foreign researchers means the objectives of even higher quality have the possibility of being achieved, while the development of science will accelerate due to the flow of knowledge. Despite international connections, the programme group's research will chiefly be conducted in the laboratories of both the Institute of Kinesiology and the Institute of Sport of the Faculty of Sport, which already now meet the highest international technological and research standards. New knowledge and technologies will only reinforce the position held by laboratories and institutes. New studies that will be implemented in the framework of the Institute of Sport, which is the main centre for testing athletes and boasts the longer tradition in Slovenia, will - with its conducted measurements - complement and enrich the already extensive database on athletes' abilities. The latter represents the basis for new research questions in the future.
Significance for the country
As regards the potential impact on the economy and the creation of new products, the programme group is focused on developing new measurement technologies, measurement procedures and analyses of measured data, which it scientifically verifies as part of its work. An advantage is our parallel knowledge of needs related to both sport and measurement technologies, which leads to products like the development of new GNSS technologies, pole handles for measuring forces and the associated data analysis methods for measuring sport performance. We are also participating in the development of miniature sensors for tracking strokes in racket games and game monitoring systems. We are directly involved in the development of smart stretchable patches ("SINTEC") which, given their smallness, stretchable electronics and communication via fat tissues, will become a new milestone in sport and health measurements. The project enables the interweaving of knowledge in this increasingly vital area of the study of human behaviour and health, representing one of the basic pillars of the global challenges brought by the sustainable development guidelines. The project is joining in the contemporary trend of developing portable sensor systems that support human activities, named "Europe fit for the digital age", thereby also addressing the challenge of European competitiveness. A global survey on fitness trends once again declared portable technology the no. 1 trend (with global sales in some technologies being worth >USD 2 billion), and hence the work of our programme group is creating economic opportunities for a technologically developed Slovenia. In cooperation with the SMM company from Maribor, Slovenia (http://www.smm.si/?page_id=4286) and experts from both the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty of Computer and Information Science, Ljubljana, we developed the first Slovenian isokinetic dynamometer, namely, a versatile and effective product for the rehabilitation and measurement of muscle strength. With many different tools, supplements and extensions, it is an effective apparatus for exercising nearly all of the muscle groups and joints and can be used for stretching a joint after injury. Our scientific validation means an important step for the company in developing future business. Potential impacts also include the development of new products of knowledge concerned with the testing and monitoring of athletes, including exercise for sport performance on one hand and exercise for health on the other. These knowledge products could be marketed by laboratories, institutes and sole proprietors directly in the market, whereas they can access our knowledge via the dissemination methods mentioned above, especially on the levels of education and training. The programme group indirectly impacts the economy, even substantially more than the above-mentioned individual products. Slovenian athletes' elite results are most probably, from a global perspective, Slovenia's most recognisable "product". Slovenia ranks at the very top in terms of Olympic medals per capita (e.g. second place at Sochi: http://www.medalspercapita.com/#medals-per-capita:2014) and has recorded top results in both individual and group sports. Athletes' results in the international arena are extremely powerful for marketing the "Made in Slovenia" brand. This explains why this indirect impact is so important in economic terms. Besides their economic relevance, elite sport performances also have great social and cultural importance. Slovenian athletes are important ambassadors of Slovenia. Their results also play an important social role, putting Slovenia alongside world's superpowers and connecting people, boosting their national self-confidence. Especially important is the national education of young athletes which can significantly influence their engagement in sport/physical activity. The indirect contribution to the positive educational impact in the youth education system has been confirmed several times. Athletes' results and/or our research efforts impact physical activities in primary prevention (physical activity's importance for maintaining and improving health, 'a healthy lifestyle') as well as in secondary and tertiary prevention (physical activity's importance for patients with chronic non-contagious diseases and/or injuries and defects of the limbs). Worth mentioning are our endeavours to promote physical activity during the lockdown imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Briefly, healthy elite sport is playing an ever more important economic, tourist, promotion and health role. In accordance with European guidelines, the programme group members are interdisciplinarily participating in international projects and research collaboration (cooperation/networking) and thus have direct access to foreign knowledge. On the other hand, development-oriented projects with outcomes for the business sector are related to international work sharing via industrial partners. We use the newly acquired knowledge directly to develop human resources through education and training, since members of the programme group are also members of the Faculty of Sport, the central education institution in the field of sport in Slovenia.
