Franco M Impellizzeri

Franco M Impellizzeri
University of Technology Sydney | UTS · Faculty of Health

PhD

About

283
Publications
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Introduction
Interested in high quality sport science research. Epidemiology, training load, training and testing, research methodology, clinimetrics, orthopaedics

Publications

Publications (283)
Article
Full-text available
The ability to accurately control and monitor internal training load is an important aspect of effective coaching. The aim of this study was to apply in soccer the RPE-based method proposed by Foster et al. to quantify internal training load (session-RPE) and to assess its correlations with various methods used to determine internal training load b...
Article
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The aim of this study was to compare the effects of specific (small-sided games) vs. generic (running) aerobic interval training on physical fitness and objective measures of match performance in soccer. Forty junior players were randomly assigned to either generic (n=20) or specific (n=20) interval training consisting of 4 bouts of 4 min at 90-95...
Article
Exercise is a stressor that induces various psychophysiological responses, which mediate cellular adaptations in many organ systems. To maximize this adaptive response, coaches and scientists need to control the stress applied to the athlete at the individual level. To achieve this, precise control and manipulation of the training load are required...
Article
Background : The optimization of athlete training load is not a new concept; however in recent years, the concept of “load management” is one of the most widely studied and divisive topics in sports science and medicine. Purpose : Discuss the challenges faced by sports when utilizing training load monitoring and management, with a specific focus on...
Article
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Academics in sports medicine as well as other medical fields are generally expected to publish research and opinions in peer-reviewed journals. The peer-review process is intended to protect against the publication of flawed research and unsubstantiated claims. However, both financial and non-financial competing interests may result in sub-optimal...
Article
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Aim Prediction intervals are a useful measure of uncertainty for meta‐analyses that capture the likely effect size of a new (similar) study based on the included studies. In comparison, confidence intervals reflect the uncertainty around the point estimate but provide an incomplete summary of the underlying heterogeneity in the meta‐analysis. This...
Article
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OBJECTIVE: To investigate open science practices in research published in the top 5 sports medicine journals from May 1, 2022, and October 1, 2022. DESIGN: A meta-research systematic review. LITERATURE SEARCH: Open science practices were searched in MEDLINE. STUDY SELECTION CRITERIA: We included original scientific research published in one of the...
Article
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Background Hyperthermia (and associated health and performance implications) can be a significant problem for athletes and teams involved in intermittent sports. Quantifying the highest thermal strain (i.e. peak core body temperature [peak Tc]) from a range of intermittent sports would enhance our understanding of the thermal requirements of sport...
Article
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Objectives: Understanding how injuries occur (inciting circumstances) is useful for developing etiological hypotheses and prevention strategies. The aims of this study were 1) to evaluate the feasibility of a method combining video and Global Positioning System data to estimate the speed and acceleration of activities leading to injuries and 2) to...
Article
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Background A comprehensive examination of the sport-specific activities and circumstances being performed at the time of injury is important to hypothesise mechanisms, develop prevention strategies and inform future investigations. Results reported in the literature are inconsistent because inciting activities are reported using different classific...
Article
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Clinical prediction models in sports medicine that utilize regression or machine learning techniques have become more widely published, used, and disseminated. However, these models are typically characterized by poor methodology and incomplete reporting, and an inadequate evaluation of performance, leading to unreliable predictions and weak clinic...
Article
Purpose: To examine the construct validity and reliability of 2 single items for fatigue and recovery in dancers. The construct validity was assessed using reference instruments: the fatigue items of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) and the Short Recovery and Stress Scale (SRSS). A secondary aim was to explore the respondent interpretation of these 2...
Article
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Various terms used in sport and exercise science, and medicine, are derived from other fields such as epidemiology, pharmacology and causal inference. Conceptual and nomological frameworks have described training load as a multidimensional construct manifested by two causally related subdimensions: external and internal training load. In this artic...
Preprint
Full-text available
Objective: To investigate the extent and qualitatively synthesize open science practices within research published in the top five sports medicine journals from 01 May 2022 and 01 October 2022. Design: Meta-research systematic review Data Sources: MEDLINE Eligibility Criteria: Studies were included if they were published in one of the identified to...
Preprint
Full-text available
Aim: Prediction intervals are a useful measure of uncertainty for meta-analyses that capture the likely effect size of a new (similar) study based on the included studies. This study aimed to: (i) estimate the proportion of meta-analysis studies that report a prediction interval in sports medicine, using medicine as a comparator; and (ii) estimate...
Article
Background: Being up-to-date with evidence-based knowledge of lower limb sports injuries is essential for Healthcare professionals (HCPs). Purpose: To assess whether HCPs possess up-to-date knowledge of lower limb sports injuries by comparing their knowledge to that of athletes. Methods: With an expert panel, we developed an online quiz of 10...
Article
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Background: While there are a few studies on measurement properties of PROMIS short forms for pain and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis, nothing is known about the measurement properties in patients with knee arthroplasty. Therefore, this study examined the measurement properties of the German Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Inf...
Article
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Return-to-play decision making should be based on all the advantages and disadvantages of return to play for athletes, not just the risk of injury. For competitive athletes, this includes the effect of early versus delayed return to sport on performance. In this paper, we address the questions “How can I estimate the effect of injury on the individ...
Article
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Background A comprehensive examination of the sport-specific activities performed around the time of injury is important to hypothesise injury mechanisms, develop prevention strategies, improve management, and inform future investigations. The aim of this systematic review is to summarise the current literature describing the activities performed a...
Article
Issue addressed: Firefighting is physically and mentally taxing and recruits are expected to have optimal health and fitness. However, physical fitness tends to decline following initial training, placing firefighters at an increased risk for stress and injury. Efforts are needed to engage and support firefighters in maintaining adequate health an...
Article
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Background Augmented feedback is often provided by coaches and practitioners as a method to enhance the performance of athletes and learners. When implementing a feedback intervention, it is important to assess the expertise of the learner and the complexity of the skill, to ensure an appropriate feedback modality, frequency, and timing is provided...
Article
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This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of recreational football performed once (LOW) vs. twice (MOD) a week on cardiovascular risk factors in healthy, sedentary men. Body composition, resting blood pressure, blood lipid profile and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) were measured at baseline, after a 12-week control and training period, usi...
Article
A recent paper called for the abandonment of the term load (and training load) when used outside its mechanical meaning, claiming it is “unscientific” and “breaches scientific principles.” In this article, we explain why its use does not breach any scientific principles and we clarify the process of labelling, conceptualising and operationalising a...
Article
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Introduction: Rugby Union is a team-based activity, in which 15 individuals must perform cooperative movements and actions to coordinate effective attacking and defensive manoeuvres against an opposing team. Wearable Global Positioning Systems are often used to monitor the physical aspects of match play (e.g., distances and speeds of individual ath...
Article
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A conceptual framework has a central role in the scientific process. Its purpose is to synthesize evidence, assist in understanding phenomena, inform future research and act as a reference operational guide in practical settings. We propose an updated conceptual framework intended to facilitate the validation and interpretation of physical training...
Article
The publisher regrets that this article has been temporarily removed. A replacement will appear as soon as possible in which the reason for the removal of the article will be specified, or the article will be reinstated. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withd...
Article
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This review aimed, as part of a larger FIFA project aiming to steer women's football research, to scope literature on any level of competitive football for women, to understand the current quantity of research on women's football injuries. The study reviewed all injury-related papers scoped by a recent scoping review mapping all published women's f...
Article
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Background Track cyclists must develop mental, physical, tactical and technical capabilities to achieve success at an elite level. Given the importance of these components in determining performance, it is of interest to understand the volume of evidence to support implementation in practice by coaches, practitioners, and athletes. Objective The a...
Article
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Men’s mental health promotion presents unique challenges including gender-related barriers and stigmas, which demand novel approaches to prevention, treatment, and management. The aim of this study was to explore men’s perceptions of mental health and preferences for mental health promotion. Seven focus groups (N = 59) were conducted in Sydney, Aus...
Chapter
Professionals in strength training deal on a daily basis with physical entities such as force, speed, power and work, and use them to assess performance of their athletes and tune their training routine. These variables are related to each other through fundamental laws and principles of Physics. Knowledge of their meaning and how they correlate to...
Article
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Introduction While the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) is mainly designed for computer adaptive testing, its static short forms (SF) are used when a paper-pencil format is preferred or item banks are not yet translated into the target language. This study examined the measurement properties of the German PROMIS-SF...
Article
Full-text available
Poor reporting of medical and healthcare systematic reviews is a problem from which the sports and exercise medicine, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, and sports science fields are not immune. Transparent, accurate and comprehensive systematic review reporting helps researchers replicate methods, readers understand what was done and why, and clinici...
Article
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Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effect of peer presence on session rating of perceived exertion (RPE) responses. Method: Fourteen males, with mean (SD) age 22.4 (3.9) years, peak oxygen uptake 48.0 (6.6) mL·kg-1·min-1, and peak power output 330 (44) W, completed an incremental cycling test and 3 identical experimental sessions, in group...
Article
Objective The Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) is strongly recommended to reduce hamstring injuries in previous meta-analyses (50% reduction in risk of injury). To underline the importance and impact of adopting appropriate methodology for evidence synthesis, we revisited the study selection, re-analysed and updated the findings of the most recent m...
Article
This study investigated cooperative passing interactions in elite rugby match play. Associations between team network metrics and match outcomes were also investigated. A cross-sectional approach was adopted, using data from four Australian Super Rugby teams, across five seasons. 44,178 passing actions were included across 321 team-fixture observat...
Article
Analysis of key performance indicators (KPIs) in team sports has frequently involved multiple univariate analyses and modelling of direct associations between each KPI and match outcomes. This study aimed to show a more appropriate framework and modelling process to establish causal plausibility for future confirmatory studies. A cross-sectional de...
Article
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Causal pathways between training loads and the mechanisms of tissue damage and athletic injury are poorly understood. Here, the relation between specific training load measures and metrics, and causal pathways of gradual onset and traumatic injury are examined. Currently, a wide variety of internal and external training load measures and metrics ex...
Article
This study investigated the variability in the worst-case scenario (WCS) and suggested a framework to improve the definition and guide further investigation. Optical tracking data from 26 male players across 38 matches were analysed to determine the WCS for total distance, high-speed running (>5.5 m.s-1) and sprinting (>7.0 m.s-1) using a 3-minute...
Article
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Aim The aim of this study was to examine the associations between the injury risk and the acute (AL) to chronic (CL) workload ratio (ACWR) by substituting the original CL with contrived values to assess the role of CL (i.e., the presence and implications of statistical artefacts). Methods Using previously published data, we generated a contrived A...
Article
Aim: This study aims to scope available peer-reviewed literature published in a FIFA language to under- stand the current quantity of research on women’s football. Methods: Five databases were searched on the 15/12/2019. Studies were included when containing original research published in a peer-reviewed journal around female competitive football o...
Preprint
Full-text available
Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effect of peer presence on the session rating of perceived exertion (RPE) responses. Design: Within-participant design. Method: Fourteen males, with mean (standard deviation) age 22.4 (3.9) years, peak oxygen uptake 48.0 (6.6) mL·kg-1·min-1 and peak power output 330 (44) W, completed an incremental cyclin...
Article
Full-text available
Background Measuring the physical work and resultant acute psychobiological responses of basketball can help to better understand and inform physical preparation models and improve overall athlete health and performance. Recent advancements in training load monitoring solutions have coincided with increases in the literature describing the physical...
Article
Full-text available
Using a multivariate allometric scaling we compared the serve speed (SS) between male and female professional tennis players, free of the confounding effect of body mass (BM) and height (H). A mass exponent common to men and women was fitted according to the following model: log SS = a log BM + b log H + log c. The average value for the best serve...
Preprint
Full-text available
A conceptual framework has a central role in the scientific process. Its purpose is to synthesize evidence, assist in understanding phenomena, inform future research and act as a reference operational guide in practical settings. We propose an updated conceptual framework intended to facilitate the validation and interpretation of physical training...
Article
Objective: To describe how workload-related exposure variables have been defined in sports injury articles, and to identify the number of workload-related exposure variables included in comparative analyses. Design: Scoping review. Literature search: PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and Scopus were systematically searched on March 13, 2020. Two reviewers...
Article
The purpose of this 2-part commentary series is to explain why we believe our ability to control injury risk by manipulating training load (TL) in its current state is an illusion and why the foundations of this illusion are weak and unreliable. In part 1, we introduce the training process framework and contextualize the role of TL monitoring in th...
Article
Background: Athlete-reported outcome measures (AROMs) are frequently used in research and practice but no studies have examined their psychometric properties. Objectives: Part 1-identify the most commonly used AROMs in sport for monitoring training responses; part 2-assess risk of bias, measurement properties, and level of evidence, based on the...
Article
Full-text available
Background Exercise-based strategies are used to prevent muscle injuries in football and studies on different competitive-level populations may provide different results.Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of exercise-based muscle injury prevention strategies in adult elite football.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in PubMed (MEDLINE),...
Article
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Purpose: To define based on expert opinion and practical experience using a systematic and scientific approach, (1) the perceived most effective exercise-based strategies to prevent muscle injury in elite footballers; and, (2) when and how these exercise programs are prescribed based on the number of days between games i.e. implementation strategy...
Article
In part 2 of this clinical commentary, we highlight the conceptual and methodologic pitfalls evident in current training-load-injury research. These limitations make these studies unsuitable for determining how to use new metrics such as acute workload, chronic workload, and their ratio for reducing injury risk. The main overarching concerns are th...
Article
Full-text available
Context Professional dance is a demanding physical activity with high injury rates. Currently, no epidemiologic data exist regarding the incidence of injury and illness together with training load (TL) over a long period of time. Objective To provide a detailed description of injury, illness, and TL occurring in professional contemporary dancers....
Article
Background: In this clinical commentary, we highlight issues related to conceptual foundations and methods used in the training load-injury research. We focus on sources of degrees of freedom that can favor questionable research practices such as p-hacking and HARKing (Hypothesizing After the Results are Known), which can undermine the trustworthi...
Article
Background: This article sets the scene for a critique of the research underpinning two common clinical assumptions: (1) training workload is a key factor influencing sports injury risk, and (2) it can be manipulated to reduce injury risk. In this summary we address why it is important for clinicians to critically evaluate the evidence behind rese...
Article
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Purpose: To provide details on the nature and symptomatic profile of training maladaptation in competitive resistance-based athletes to examine whether there are symptoms that may be used as prognostic indicators of overtraining. Identifying prognostic tools to assess for training maladaptation is essential for avoiding severe overtraining conditi...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
PURPOSE: Perceptions of effort (PE) and muscle pain (MP) influence performance and engagement in regular physical exercise. Literature-based standardized instructions describe PE as resulting from multiple sensory cues including “aches”. This description of PE creates a possible confound when PE and MP are being considered separately. This project...
Article
The number of studies examining associations between training load and injury has increased exponentially. As a result, many new measures of exposure and training-load-based prognostic factors have been created. The acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) is the most popular. However, when recommending the manipulation of a prognostic factor in order t...
Article
Objective The changing demographics of our society will lead to an increasing number of patients presenting for orthopaedic surgery with increasing comorbidity. We investigated the association between comorbidity and both the risks (complications) and benefits (improved function) of total hip replacement (THR) for primary hip osteoarthritis, whilst...
Preprint
Full-text available
During COVID-19 home confinement, athletes are likely exposed to some level of detraining (i.e. the partial or complete loss of training-induced morphological and physiological adaptations), as a consequence of insufficient and/or inappropriate training stimuli. Such changes may result in impaired performance and increased injury risk if, upon rest...