Chronic pain is often discussed in terms of injuries, underlying medical conditions and how the nervous system processes pain. But the circumstances in which people live may also influence whether pain develops and how much it interferes with daily life. Income, education, employment, housing and access to healthcare can shape
A 2025 narrative review published in Sports found that movement screens, such as the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and Y-Balance Test (YBT), have “limited utility in predicting injuries due to their [injuries] context-specific nature.” Researchers from Kean University — led by Dr. Adam Eckart — included 75 studies and
Key takeaways Mechanical tension and mechanotransduction are currently the strongest evidence-based explanations for how muscles get bigger. Current evidence suggests that anabolic hormones, cell swelling (“pump”), and metabolites have little to no effect on muscle hypertrophy. A Canadian exercise scientist suggests a few ways for academics and others to disseminate
A 2025 editorial published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine argued that increasing muscular strength is not the main driver for reducing pain. Instead, they wrote that strength training is one component among several factors that contribute to pain reduction, based on the biopsychosocial framework of pain. These other
Confounding factors can cause some researchers to believe that there’s a direct cause-and-effect relationship in their studies. For example, if they were to examine whether taking a vitamin would increase an athlete’s stamina, there are likely other factors besides the vitamin that could influence their results. It could be sleep
While stretching is often recommended by many fitness, sports, and rehab professionals, few could explain how it works and why. Traditional explanations often include “it lengthens your muscles” or “releases fascia.” However, research in the last 30-plus years has shown that stretching is less about mechanical properties and more about