Muscle fatigue represents a complex physiological and psychological phenomenon that impairs physical performance and increases the risks of injury. It is important to continuously monitor fatigue levels for early detection and management of fatigue. The detection and classification of muscle fatigue also provide important information in human-computer interactions (HMI), sports injuries and performance, ergonomics, and prosthetic control. With this purpose in mind, this review first provides an overview of the mechanisms of muscle fatigue and its biomarkers and further enumerates various non-invasive techniques commonly used for muscle fatigue monitoring and detection in the literature, including electromyogram (EMG), which records the muscle electrical activity during muscle contractions, mechanomyogram (MMG), which records vibration signals of muscle fibers, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which measures the amount of oxygen in the muscle, ultrasound (US), which records signals of muscle deformation during muscle contractions. This review also introduces the principle and mechanism, parameters used for fatigue detection, application in fatigue detection, and advantages and disadvantages of each technology in detail. To conclude, the limitations/challenges that need to be addressed for future research in this area are presented.

Hyperandrogenism is a key pathologic characteristic of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and exercise can alleviate the accompanying inflammation and decrease the high androgen levels, but the mechanism is still unclear, so the purpose of this study is to explore the pathophysiologic characteristics of hyperandrogenic PCOS and the mechanism underlying its amelioration with aerobic exercise. Thirty-two female rats were randomly allocated to a normal control group (NC, n = 8), exercise control group (EC, n = 8), PCOS group (PC, n = 8), and PCOS plus exercise group (PE, n = 8). The PC and PE groups were injected with a dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) solution to induce the hyperandrogenic PCOS rat model. The EC and PE groups underwent a Masashi swimming protocol (120 min per session, 6 days/week, for 15 days). Results indicated that the concentrations of leptin (LP) in the EC group were significantly lower than those in the NC group ( ). Compared with the NC group, the levels of testosterone (T), estradiol (E₂), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), LP, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and free fatty acids (FFA) were all significantly augmented in the PC group (all ). In addition, compared with the NC group, the levels of adiponectin (ADP) were significantly decreased ( ), and the expression of aromatase cytochrome P450 (P450arom) in ovarian tissue was significantly elevated in the PC group ( ). The levels of T, FSH, LP, and FFA were also significantly increased in the PE group ( ). Compared with the PC group, the levels of T and LP in the PE group were significantly diminished ( ), and the levels of ADP were significantly increased in the PE group ( ). T was positively correlated with E₂, FSH, AMH, LP, TNF-α, IL-6, and FFA levels, while ADP was negatively correlated with LP and E₂. These results showed that hyperandrogenism, chronic low-grade inflammation, and leptin resistance may interact to influence the occurrence and development of PCOS. Aerobic exercise can alleviate the internal inflammation by relieving leptin resistance and may mitigate the sex hormone disorder and hyperandrogenism in rats with PCOS by affecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis.

FIFA11+ Kids is a warm-up program specially designed to prevent football injuries in children. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the effects of FIFA11+ Kids on injury prevention in young football players. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched from 1 January 2016 to 24 August 2022. The primary outcome was overall injuries, and the secondary outcomes were severe, ankle, knee, and lower extremity injuries. Risk ratios (RRs) were calculated for each outcome. Methodological quality was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. A total of 230 articles were screened, 6 of which were finally included in the meta-analysis. Compared with normal warm-up training, FIFA11+ Kids significantly reduced overall injury risk (RR = 0.52 [95% CI, 0.44–0.62]; p < 0.00001), severe injury risk (RR = 0.33 [95% CI, 0.18–0.61]; p = 0.0004), lower extremity injury risk (RR = 0.51 [95% CI, 0.41–0.65]; p < 0.00001), knee injury risk (RR = 0.45 [95% CI, 0.29–0.72]; p = 0.0009), and ankle injury risk (RR = 0.56 [95% CI, 0.35–0.89]; p = 0.01) in young football players. FIFA11+ Kids was found to be an effective approach to decrease the injury risk among young football players, which is worth generalizing extensively.

Postpartum depression (PPD), a prevalent perinatal mood disorder characterized by persistent depressive and anxiety symptoms, significantly impacts maternal-infant health. The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the global burden of PPD, emphasizing the need for effective and accessible interventions. Although non-pharmacological interventions are widely used, their comparative efficacy remains uncertain. We searched the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus, CNKI, VIP Database, and Wanfang Database (inception to September 1, 2024) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Interventions included acupuncture (ACU), exercise (EXE), psychotherapy (PSY), exercise combined with psychotherapy (ECP), and music therapy (MT). Primary (depression) and secondary (anxiety) outcomes were pooled using mean differences (MD) with 95% credible intervals (CrI). Risk of bias was assessed via Cochrane RoB2. (PROSPERO: CRD42020166801). Thirty-five RCTs were included (n=4047). Meta-analyses for depressive symptoms (5 interventions, n=4047) showed a statistically significant improvement in the non-pharmacological intervention group compared with the control group (standard care, no intervention, or placebo et al), particularly for the ECP (95% CrI −2.3 to −0.85), followed by ACU (95% CrI −1.8 to −0.44) and EXE (95% CrI −1.7 to −0.48). Similarly, for anxiety symptoms (5 interventions, n=863), the overall effect of the non-pharmacological interventions was superior to that of the control group, with ECP again being the most effective modality (95% CrI −2.3 to −0.18), followed by EXE (95% CrI −2.0 to −0.0021) and ACU (95% CrI −0.96 to −0.052). This study demonstrates the promise of non-pharmacological interventions, particularly exercise, acupuncture, and ECP, for alleviating PPD symptoms, positioning ECP as a potential first-line intervention for mild to moderate cases.