This post showcases research around wearables and their current & future value in practice.

Wearable sensors data & analytics have improved drastically but still have particular limitations. Still, these technologies are used in several sports domains already.

These insights are based on the research of Case Western Reserve University, UH Cleveland Medical Center, and the University of Southern Queensland. Researchers from these institutes published the paper "Wearable Technology and Analytics as a Complementary Toolkit to Optimize Workload and to Reduce Injury Burden" (Full Text). Here are their key insights. 👇

For those who like a short text version of the authors' findings, here it is:

Did you know that wearable sensors data & analytics have improved drastically, but still have particular limitations?

This has been studied by researchers at Case Western Reserve University, UH Cleveland Medical Center, and the University of Southern Queensland. They have conducted a narrative review of the current application of sensors and the emergence of analytics. They found 6 key areas in which sensors & analytics can play a vital role: workload optimization, hydration and fatigue, sleep and recovery, cardiovascular health, return-to-play: musculoskeletal injury, and return-to-play: illness.

Additionally, they found that the collection of data through wearable sensors and the creation of baseline datasets will be crucial for making reliable decisions. Also, analytical models are more and more able to predict long-term health of athletes, but the precise likelihood of injury with wearable technology and Machine Learning cannot be accurately assessed yet.

So...

Researchers, businesses and sports organizations can collaborate to collect the right data with wearables and implement the appropriate algorithms. This will result in optimized training protocols and reduced injury rates.