Throughout history a variety of therapeutic tools have been studied as possible enhancers of sports activities. This study proposes the use of Capacitive-Resistive Electric Transfer (CRET) as a performance booster to paralympic athletes, specifically those belonging to the Spanish Paralympic swimming committee. The study was a randomized, single-blind, and observer-blind, crossover clinical trial. Six athletes were randomly assigned to three groups: one treated with CRET (A); a placebo group (B) and a control group (C). The CRET group attended a twenty-minute session before being subjected to pool trials at distances of 50 and 100 m at maximum performance. Measurements were in two dimensions: time in seconds and the Borg scale for perceived exertion. Comparisons between groups were made with respect to distance and the main variables. In the case of perceived exertion, no significant changes were observed in any of the distances; however, in the case of the time variable, a significant difference was observed between Group A vs. Personal Record at 100 m distance (76.3 ± 6.8 vs. 68.4 ± 3.3). The proposed protocol and level of hyperthermia applied suggest refusal of CRET use for the 100-m distance a few minutes before sports practice. Our analysis suggests the need to modify the presented protocol. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier under NCT number: NCT04336007.

Background: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a common musculoskeletal condition in physically active individuals. Although quadriceps strengthening has traditionally been the cornerstone of conservative management, hip-strengthening exercises have gained increasing attention because of their potential to improve lower-limb biomechanics. However, the optimal exercise prescription for PFPS remains uncertain. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of isolated or combined hip muscle strengthening compared with knee strengthening or no intervention on pain, physical function, and muscle strength in individuals with PFPS. Methods: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and registered in PROSPERO (CRD420261342475). PubMed, PEDro, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Web of Science were searched from inception to 31 December 2025. Randomised controlled trials comparing hip-strengthening interventions with knee strengthening or no intervention were included. Methodological quality, risk of bias, and certainty of evidence were assessed using the PEDro scale, the Cochrane RoB 2 tool, and the GRADE approach, respectively. Results: Fifteen randomised controlled trials involving 1002 participants were included. Exercise therapy consistently improved pain, physical function and muscle strength. Both hip- and knee-strengthening programmes were superior to no intervention. Programmes incorporating hip strengthening may provide greater reductions in pain and larger improvements in proximal muscle strength than knee-focused programmes, whereas functional outcomes were generally comparable. Combined hip- and knee-strengthening programmes appeared to provide the most consistent overall clinical benefits. The overall certainty of the evidence was moderate for all outcomes. Conclusions: Current evidence supports exercise-based rehabilitation for PFPS, while evidence remains insufficient to determine whether any specific strengthening strategy provides a clear overall advantage. Further high-quality randomised controlled trials are needed to determine the optimal exercise prescription.

La Revista Internacional de Medicina y Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte es una revista multidisciplinar, científico-técnica, en torno a las Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte. Todos los temas son publicables siempre que estén relacionados con la actividad física y el deporte y sea explícita esta relación en el artículo.

Background: Female rugby players are exposed to repeated contact, impact, acceleration, deceleration, and trunk-stabilization demands that may challenge lumbopelvic control and intra-abdominal pressure regulation. Rehabilitative ultrasound imaging can characterize transversus abdominis (TrA) thickness changes during standardized tasks, although these measures should not be interpreted as direct indicators of neuromuscular activation or sport-specific trunk function. This study aimed to characterize ultrasound-derived TrA thickness and thickness change in nulliparous female rugby players and to explore whether these measures, immediate visual feedback, sport-related variables, and body mass index were associated with urinary leakage. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted with 34 nulliparous female rugby players recruited from two competitive rugby clubs. Urinary leakage was assessed using the validated Spanish version of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF), with current urinary leakage defined as leakage reported within the four-week recall period. TrA thickness was measured bilaterally using rehabilitative ultrasound imaging at rest, during the abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM), and during ADIM with real-time ultrasound-based visual feedback. Exploratory analyses were conducted to examine associations between current urinary leakage and ultrasound-derived TrA measures, sport-related variables, and body mass index. Results: Overall, 41.2% of participants reported having experienced urinary leakage at some point, while 20.6% reported current urinary leakage. Among participants reporting leakage type, stress urinary incontinence was the most frequent pattern, and perceived impact on daily life was low. TrA thickness increased bilaterally during ADIM compared with rest. Immediate visual feedback did not produce a statistically significant additional increase in TrA thickness. No significant associations were observed between current urinary leakage and TrA thickness measures, side-to-side differences, weekly training hours, years of rugby practice, or body mass index. Conclusions: In this exploratory sample, ultrasound-derived TrA thickness measures during controlled ADIM tasks were not significantly associated with current urinary leakage. Future studies should include larger samples, direct pelvic floor muscle assessment, respiratory monitoring, body composition measures, and dynamic rugby-specific tasks.