Twenty years of research on exercise-induced fatigue: A bibliometric analysis of hotspots, bursts, and research trends

Data from the Web of Science Core Collection (2004-2023) on "exercise-induced fatigue" were analyzed using bibliometric tools to explore research trends across countries, institutions, authors, journals, and keywords. The analysis was limited to "Article" and "Review" literature types. Among 4531 publications, the United States contributed the most articles (1005), followed by England (559) and China (516). The most influential institution was Universidade de São Paulo, while the most productive was Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale with 103 papers. The European Journal of Applied Physiology ranked as the top journal with 233 articles. Millet Guillaume Y. emerged as the most prolific author, and Amann Markus was the most cited. Recent keyword trends showed a surge in terms like "physical activity" and "aerobic exercise," while "fatigue" and "exercise" remained dominant. Notable findings were observed in oncology, engineering, and multidisciplinary studies, indicating potential research trends. Oxidative stress was identified as the most commonly mentioned mechanism in exercise-induced fatigue studies. This bibliometric analysis highlights current research trends and gaps, suggesting that future studies should focus on understanding the mechanisms of exercise-induced fatigue, developing objective measurement criteria, and exploring strategies for its alleviation.