The aim of this review was to understand the use of wearable technology in sport in order to enhance performance and prevent injury. Understanding sports biomechanics is important for injury prevention and performance enhancement and is traditionally assessed using optical motion capture. However, such approaches are limited by capture volume restricting assessment to a laboratory environment, a factor that can be overcome by wearable technology. A systematic search was carried out across seven databases where wearable technology was employed to assess kinetic and kinematic variables in sport. Articles were excluded if they focused on sensor design and did not measure kinetic or kinematic variables or apply the technology on targeted participants. A total of 33 articles were included for full-text analysis where participants took part in a sport and performed dynamic movements relating to performance monitored by wearable technologies. Inertial measurement units, flex sensors and magnetic field and angular rate sensors were among the devices used in over 15 sports to quantify motion. Wearable technology usage is still in an exploratory phase, but there is potential for this technology to positively influence coaching practice and athletes’ technique.

Continuous monitoring of spine movement function could enhance our understanding of low back pain development. Wearable technologies have gained popularity as promising alternative to laboratory systems in allowing ambulatory movement analysis. This paper aims to review the state of art of current use of wearable technology to assess spine kinematics and kinetics. Four electronic databases and reference lists of relevant articles were searched to find studies employing wearable technologies to assess the spine in adults performing dynamic movements. Two reviewers independently identified relevant papers. Customised data extraction and quality appraisal form were developed to extrapolate key details and identify risk of biases of each study. Twenty-two articles were retrieved that met the inclusion criteria: 12 were deemed of medium quality (score 33.4-66.7%), and 10 of high quality (score >66.8%). The majority of articles (19/22) reported validation type studies. Only 6 reported data collection in real-life environments. Multiple sensors type were used: electrogoniometers (3/22), strain gauges based sensors (3/22), textile piezoresistive sensor (1/22) and accelerometers often used with gyroscopes and magnetometers (15/22). Two sensors units were mainly used and placing was commonly reported on the spine lumbar and sacral regions. The sensors were often wired to data transmitter/logger resulting in cumbersome systems. Outcomes were mostly reported relative to the lumbar segment and in the sagittal plane, including angles, range of motion, angular velocity, joint moments and forces. This review demonstrates the applicability of wearable technology to assess the spine, although this technique is still at an early stage of development.

The prevalence of osteoarthritis is increasing globally but current compliance with rehabilitation remains poor. This study explores whether wearable sensors can be used to provide objective measures of performance with a view to using them as motivators to aid compliance to osteoarthritis rehabilitation. More specifically, the use of a novel attachable wearable sensor integrated into clothing and inertial measurement units located in two different positions, at the waist and thigh pocket, was investigated. Fourteen healthy volunteers were asked to complete exercises adapted from a knee osteoarthritis rehabilitation programme whilst wearing the three sensors including five times sit-to-stand test, treadmill walking at slow, preferred and fast speeds. The performances of the three sensors were validated against a motion capture system and an instrumented treadmill. The systems showed a high correlation (r(2) > 0.7) and agreement (mean difference range: -0.02-0.03 m, 0.005-0.68 s) with gold standards. The novel attachable wearable sensor was able to monitor exercise tasks as well as the inertial measurement units (ICC > 0.95). Results also suggested that a functional placement (e.g., situated in a pocket) is a valid position for performance monitoring. This study shows the potential use of wearable technologies for assessing subject performance during exercise and suggests functional solutions to enhance acceptance.

Objective This study investigates clinicians’ views of health-related wearable technologies in the context of supporting osteoarthritis (OA) long-term management. Clinicians’ preferences are critical in identifying realistic implementation strategies for such technologies. Design Qualitative study incorporating an inductive thematic analysis applied to identify key themes from clinicians’ responses. Participants Clinicians, including 4 general practitioners, 4 physiotherapists and 5 orthopaedic surgeons were interviewed. Setting The study was conducted in a University setting. Results Participants all agreed wearable technologies could positively complement their role and enhance their relationship with patients. Perceived benefits of wearable technologies included monitoring patients’ progress, treatment evaluation, monitoring compliance and informing clinical decision-making. The device should be designed to provide objective data of patients’ locomotion capability in an easy and timely fashion via a simple interface. Data should be available to both clinicians and patients to provide them with the motivation to achieve clinical goals and allow them to take ownership of their treatment. The use of technology was also seen as a way to more effectively plan treatment and manage patients’ contact time saving time and cost. Conclusions Findings support the use of wearable technologies to enhance current OA management and suggest clinical uses. Adoption of technologies could have implications on the effectiveness of treatment provided overcoming current barriers, in particular compliance with treatment.