Background: The “FIFA 11 + Shoulder” programme has been reported to reduce the incidence of upper extremity injuries among soccer goalkeepers. It has also been recommended for overhead sports. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of an 8-week “FIFA 11 + shoulder” (11 + S) programme on shoulder joint position sense (JPS), threshold to detect passive motion (TTDPM) and upper quarter Y Balance Test in young male volleyball players. Methods: Thirty-two healthy young elite male volleyball players (17.49 ± 1.47 years) participated in this quasi-experimental study. Participants, recruited from two clubs participating in Iranian premier league, were randomly assigned into two groups; (1) the intervention group who performed the “FIFA 11 + shoulder” programme as their warm up protocol, three times per week, and (2) the control group who kept their routine warm up protocol meanwhile. Proprioception tests including JPS and TTDPM of internal and external rotator muscles of the dominant shoulder were recorded via the isokinetic system pro 4. The upper quarter Y Balance Test determined the shoulder dynamic stability. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed for JPS and TTDPM of shoulder internal and external rotator muscles; shoulder stability however significantly increased only in the intervention group (p = 0.03, ηp²=0.02). Conclusion: Upper quarter dynamic stability improvement due to the 11+S programme leads to volleyball players’ performance and may therefore contribute to a reduction in risk of sustaining injury if applied long-term. Trial registration: The trial was retrospectively registered atIranian Registry of Clinical Trials with the number of IRCT20201030049193N1 at 04/12/2020.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an eight-week 11 + S programme on isokinetic shoulder strength in young male volleyball players. Twenty-eight top-level young male volleyball players were recruited for this study. The players were randomly assigned into intervention (14 players) and control (14 players) groups. The intervention group performed the 11 + S as a warm-up before training at least three times a week for eight weeks. Dominant shoulder strength was measured using an isokinetic dynamometer at 60°/s and 180°/s. The functional deceleration ratio (FDR) was calculated as a functional strength profile. 20% FDR improvement after eight weeks of 11 + S at 180°/s (p = 0.003) were observed. No other statistically significant effects for shoulder strength improvement was observed (p > 0.05). Eight weeks of 11 + S warm-up programme improved the glenohumeral muscle imbalance by increasing the functional deceleration ratio (FDR) of shoulder muscles in young male volleyball players.

Purpose: To systematically synthesize ultrasound (US) evidence on talar cartilage morphology and load-induced deformation in individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI), and to map methodological approaches (acquisition, outcome definitions, loading paradigms, and normalization) to inform protocol standardization. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCO were searched (March 31, 2025). Eligible studies reported quantitative US-derived talar cartilage morphology (e.g., thickness, cross-sectional area [CSA]) and/or deformation following standardized loading in CAI and comparison groups. Due to heterogeneity in imaging protocols, loading tasks, and outcome definitions, findings were synthesized narratively and organized by outcome domain. Results: Across available cohorts, load-induced deformation was the most consistently differentiating signal: CAI groups generally demonstrated greater deformation than controls, with more frequent regional effects at the medial talar dome. Evidence for baseline (unloaded) morphological differences was mixed, with some studies reporting no group differences and others reporting larger CSA in CAI. Associations between deformation and neuromechanical measures (e.g., inversion laxity, postural control, hop biomechanics, ground reaction forces) were reported but were protocol- and cohort-dependent. Conclusions: Current evidence, limited by few unique cohorts, partial non-independence across publications, and heterogeneous acquisition/loading/normalization procedures, suggests that B-mode US can quantify talar cartilage morphology and detect load-induced deformation differences in CAI in research settings. Talar cartilage ultrasonography should be considered investigational until standardized acquisition and analysis procedures and longitudinal validity are established. Key Points • Ultrasound can quantify talar cartilage morphology and load-induced deformation in individuals with chronic ankle instability. • Load-induced talar cartilage deformation appears to be the most consistent ultrasound-derived feature differentiating chronic ankle instability from healthy controls. • Evidence for baseline talar cartilage morphology differences is mixed, likely reflecting heterogeneity in cohorts and imaging/loading protocols. • Standardized acquisition, loading, and analysis methods, along with independent longitudinal validation, are needed before clinical translation.

Was not provided for this article.

Smartphone-based sensors may provide a complement to laboratory-based force-plate balance assessment; however, validation studies have not established whether smartphone–force-plate associations and agreement vary across combined manipulations of visual input and support-surface reliability, or which smartphone-derived metrics are most sensitive to sensory challenges. Therefore, this study compared smartphone-derived and force-plate-derived sway metrics during virtual reality-based clinical test of sensory interaction and balance (VR-CTSIB) conditions. This secondary analysis included 40 adults (20 with chronic ankle instability and 20 healthy controls). Participants completed 30 s double-leg stance trials under six VR-CTSIB conditions combining firm or foam surfaces with NormVision, DisplayOff, and SwayRef visual environments. Sway data were collected using a force plate and a smartphone-based head-mounted display. Root mean square (RMS) and mean absolute value (MAV) were calculated in the mediolateral (ML) and anterior–posterior (AP) directions. Pearson correlations with false discovery rate (FDR) correction were used to examine device associations, Bland–Altman analyses assessed agreement, and Cohen’s dz quantified condition sensitivity. In the primary analyses, ML smartphone metrics showed larger correlation coefficients with force-plate measures than AP metrics. The largest correlations were observed in the firm NormVision condition for ML RMS with force-plate ML velocity RMS ( r = 0.705, FDR-adjusted p < 0.001) and ML MAV with force-plate ML velocity MAV ( r = 0.679, FDR-adjusted p < 0.001). Force-plate outcomes demonstrated greater condition sensitivity than smartphone-derived outcomes. Among smartphone metrics, ML MAV and RMS in the SwayRef condition showed the largest effects ( dz = 0.895 and 0.876, respectively). Bland–Altman analyses showed systematic bias, with agreement varying across metrics and conditions. Overall, smartphone-derived sway metrics may provide complementary information during VR-based balance assessment, particularly in the ML direction. However, associations, agreement, and condition sensitivity varied by metric and sensory condition, indicating that smartphone- and force-plate-derived measures should not be interpreted as interchangeable.