The Impact of Sportsmetrics™ Neuromuscular Training on Injury Risk Factors and Athletic Performance: A Systematic Review

Purpose:Sportsmetrics™, unlike other neuromuscular exercises, is designed not only to prevent injuries but also to enhance performance in sports such as soccer, volleyball, basketball, and tennis. Unlike other programs, such as FIFA 11+, which have been the subject of numerous review articles, there is a lack of systematic reviews on the effects of Sportsmetrics™. Therefore, this study conducted a systematic review to investigate the impact of Sportsmetrics™.Methods:The present research was conducted based on PRISMA guidelines. To find English language articles, the search engines including PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, Google Scholar were searched using the keywords Sport specific, Sportsmetrics, Neuromuscular training, performance, function, Prevent, ACL; and Persian language articles search engines from SID and Magiran were searched using the keywords specific exercises, sportsmetrics, neuromuscular training, plyometrics, performance, function, prevention, anterior cruciate ligament in the range of 2000 to 2024. Additionally, the quality assessment of the articles was based on Pedro's checklist done.Results:Inclusion Criteria for Studies Investigating Risk Factors and Athletic Performance followed Sportsmetrics™. After a comprehensive search,19 articles were selected from a pool of 22,987 studies. Among these, seven studies examined injury risk, one study focused on performance, and eleven studies explored both. The most common sports were soccer and volleyball, and the most frequent performance tests were explosive power, speed, and agility. The majority of studies reported a significant reduction in injury risk and a significant improvement in athletic performance.Conclusion:In addition to reducing dynamic knee valgus and landing error, and improving the alignment of the lower limbs, Sportsmetrics™ increase power, speed, agility and core stability. However, in terms of its impact on the balance, the results are contradictory and need further investigation. It is recommended for coaches and athletes to employ specialized Sportsmetrics™ related to their field in order to reduce the risk factors without fear of disrupting sports performance.