Journal of Sports Medicine & Doping Studies

Scope: Currently there are several reference values for evaluating cardiorespiratory fitness in children. However, one of the most commonly used reference model seems to overestimate normal exercise capacity. We aimed to compare the reference values of peak VO2 between the Bongers model and the newly published Z-score model on a population of children and adolescents referred for CPET.

Methodology: This is a cohort study including 195 healthy young people with exercise symptoms as well as children with different pathologies. All included subjects completed CPET on a bicycle according to a standard protocol. Their exercise values were recorded and the predicted peak VO2 values were compared using the two methods using Bland-Altman, one-sample t-test, linear regression, Welch’s t-test and Chi-2.

Findings: Subjects were aged 14.1 ± 0.6 years. The predicted values between Bongers and the z-score model were not consistent. The Z-score model seems to better estimate the predicted value of our population, since the difference between observed and predicted VO2 was smaller than according to the Bongers model, whether in the entire cohort (-258.2 ± 402.2 vs. -559.7 ± 536.7 mL/min) or in healthy children (-393.6 ± 337.5 vs. -685.3 ± 415.8 mL/min).

Conclusions: The new Z-score model seems to better predict normal CRF in our population of healthy children and in children with various conditions than the Bongers model. This new equation was developed from three populations from different countries and with a wide diversity of ages and BMI, making it applicable to a more heterogeneous population.

Limitations: Our subjects without known condition were referred to us for exercise symptoms. We cannot therefore consider them as healthy in “strictu sensu”. However, as they all had a normal cardiological examination, we had considered them as healthy.

Preserving knee joint integrity is crucial for optimizing performance and reducing injury risk in tactical athletes. This study proposes a holistic approach to knee joint preservation that considers both lesion location and osteochondral unit restoration. Tactical athletes often face highdemand physical activities that place significant stress on the knee joint, leading to an increased risk of injuries, including osteochondral lesions. Understanding the biomechanical factors contributing to knee joint pathology and implementing comprehensive treatment strategies are essential for maintaining knee health in this population. This review discusses the importance of lesion location in determining treatment outcomes and emphasizes the significance of restoring the entire osteochondral unit for long-term joint integrity. Integrating biomechanical assessments, advanced imaging modalities and personalized rehabilitation protocols can enhance outcomes and facilitate return to duty for tactical athletes while minimizing the risk of recurrent injuries.

This study investigates the relationship between Knee Abduction Moment (KAM) and trunk and lower extremity segment acceleration during sportspecific movements. Understanding this relationship is crucial for elucidating biomechanical factors contributing to knee injury risk and developing targeted interventions for injury prevention. Kinematic and kinetic data are collected during sport-specific movements, and correlation analysis is performed to examine the associations between KAM and segmental acceleration patterns. The findings provide insights into the biomechanical mechanisms underlying knee joint loading during dynamic movements, with implications for optimizing movement patterns and reducing injury risk in athletes.

This study investigates the dynamic impact of endurance exercise on skeletal muscle transcriptome profiles across immediate, short-term and long-term durations. Transcriptomic analysis reveals significant alterations in gene expression patterns associated with exercise-induced adaptations in skeletal muscle. Immediate responses are characterized by rapid changes in gene expression related to metabolic regulation and cellular stress response pathways. Short-term adaptations involve the modulation of gene networks governing muscle repair, angiogenesis and energy metabolism. Long-term effects are marked by sustained alterations in gene expression associated with enhanced muscle endurance, fiber remodeling and oxidative capacity. The comprehensive understanding of these transcriptomic changes provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying exercise-induced skeletal muscle adaptations, with implications for optimizing training strategies and developing targeted interventions for improving athletic performance and health outcomes.