• Athlete

Well, technically nothing except that a better understanding of submarines and diabetes will help in the crusade against injury and pain. Let us explain…

Fast bowling in cricket is a huge workload not only because of the repetitive nature of the action (six consecutive deliveries in one over and multiple overs bowled in one game—up to 60!) and also the forces associated with the speed of the action. One of the challenges is the variability in workload. The editorial (see page 962) outlines smart technology that departs from traditional measures of counting the balls bowled (that may differ in intensity) and uses technology to provide and quantify information about the intensity of load. This game changing wearable technology aims to assist with optimising workloads, reducing injury and ensuring fast bowling preparedness. Let us hope that the British cricket team does not get hold of this Aussie brilliance…

Interestingly, Melbourne's Billy Hulin and colleagues found that high and very-high chronic workloads may protect against match injury in elite rugby league players following shorter between match recovery periods (see page 1008). This may provide a surprising opportunity to manipulate training workloads in rugby to minimise match-injury risk especially when match scheduling is outside of the control of coaches.

From elite athletes to those who may struggle to complete health promoting physical activity due to musculoskeletal pain, the systematic review by Ranger and colleagues (see page 982) provides a critique …