Sports Rehabilitation Research Articles

Exploring the biomechanics and fatigue patterns of eccentric quasi-isometric muscle actions in the knee extensors and flexors.

Eccentric quasi-isometric (EQI) resistance training is emerging as a promising option in sports medicine and rehabilitation. Despite prior research on EQI contractions in quadriceps and biceps brachii, their use in hamstring injury contexts is underexplored. Therefore, our study examines and contrasts the biomechanics and fatigue effects of EQI training on knee extensors and flexors. Following familiarization, 16 healthy, active participants (9 men, 7 women; 23.5 ± 2.6years, 72.1 ± 12.8kg, 173.4 ± 10.7cm) performed, in random order, four EQI contractions for knee extensions and flexions, respectively. EQI contractions were isotonically loaded to 70% of concentric (60°·s-1) maximal voluntary contraction. Rest between repetitions was set at three minutes, while four minutes separated each muscle group. Peak torque, mean torque, and optimal angle were evaluated pre- and post-bouts. Inter-repetition contraction time and angular velocity were also assessed. Average torque was 160.9 ± 44.2 and 71.5 ± 23.2 Nm for the extensors and flexors. Peak and mean torque significantly decreased for both extensors (p < 0.001, d = 0.70-0.71) and flexors (p ≤ 0.022, d = 0.36)after EQI contractions, respectively. However, the optimal angle increased for extensors (p < 0.001, d = 1.00) but not flexors (p = 0.811, d = 0.06). During EQI contractions, knee flexors exhibited greater intra-repetition velocity than extensors (p = 0.002; η2 = 0.50). Decreases in inter-repetition time and range of motion were more consistent for the extensors. Distinct responses exist when comparing EQI contractions of the knee extensors and flexors, particularly their effect onpeak torque angles. These findings suggest knee flexors may require lower relative intensities to align more closely with extensor EQI contractions.

ПРОТИВОДЕЙСТВИЕ ДОПИНГУ В СПОРТЕ В ПРАКТИКЕ ВРАЧА: НАПРАВЛЕНИЯ, ПРОБЛЕМЫ, РЕШЕНИЯ

Purpos of the study: to improve educational and information work on anti-doping issues. Materials and methods: a survey of 103 sports doctors of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Federal State Budgetary Institution Federal Scientific and Clinical Center for Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency was conducted in 2022. Results: the research conducted indicates a number of positive trends in the processes being studied, but at the same time confirms the need to continue continuous work to improve the level of knowledge of doctors in matters of anti-doping in sports. The priority areas of this work include educational activities to develop the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to file requests for TUEs, counseling and outreach on the use and possible risks of using nutritional supplements in athletes.

THE HISTORY OF USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORTS

This article examines the historical development and implementation of information technologies in physical education and sports. Through comprehensive analysis of scientific literature and online sources, the study explores early innovations in computer programs and software applications designed for biomechanical analysis, monitoring of physical condition, training modeling, and individualized program creation in sports and fitness. Key contributions from researchers at the National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine are highlighted, including significant developments in posture analysis, foot diagnostics, and video-based motion capture systems. The paper thoroughly reviews specialized software for professional bodybuilding, aqua aerobics, family health management, and student physical education, demonstrating the breadth of applications across various domains. A detailed classification system for information technologies in physical culture and sports is presented, categorizing applications by areas such as sports training, physical education, and rehabilitation. The research demonstrates the widespread adoption of information technologies across diverse aspects of physical education and sports, enabling sophisticated biomechanical assessments, comprehensive physical state monitoring, advanced training simulations, and personalized program development. The authors conclude that information technologies have become integral tools in enhancing physical education and sports practices, with significant potential for further implementation in higher education curricula. The study also emphasizes the need for continued research and development in this rapidly evolving field, particularly in areas such as virtual reality applications and mobile technologies for promoting physical activity and health.

Prognosticating Return-To-Play Time Following a Hamstring Strain Injury Using Early Flexibility Asymmetry and Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Imaging Outcomes: An Exploratory Study Among Canadian University Football Players.

Identify key flexibility and point-of-care musculoskeletal ultrasound (POCUS) measures for prognosticating return-to-play (RTP) following a first hamstring strain injury (HSI) and informing the clinical decision-making process. Exploratory prospective cohort study. Sport medicine and rehabilitation clinic of a Canadian university. One hundred and sixty-seven elite Canadian university football athletes followed over 5 seasons. Clinical and POCUS measures collected within 7 days after HSI and preseason clinical measures. Active knee extension (AKE) and Straight Leg Raise (SLR) to quantify hamstring flexibility, POCUS-related outcomes to characterize tissue alteration, and RTP until full sport resumption were documented (categorized as Early [1-40 days] or Late [>40 days] RTP). A total of 19 and 14 athletes were included in the Early RTP (mean RTP = 28.84 ± 8.62 days) and Late RTP groups (mean 51.93 ± 10.54 days), respectively, after having been diagnosed with a first HSI. For the clinical results, height and a greater flexibility asymmetry measure with the AKE or SLR when compared with both ipsilateral preseason and acute contralateral values significantly increases the chance of facing a long delay before returning to play (ie, RTP). For the POCUS-related results, the Peetrons severity score, extent of the longitudinal fibrillary alteration, and novel score lead to similar results. Early hamstring flexibility asymmetry following acute HSI, particularly the AKE, along with some POCUS-related measures are valuable in prognosticating late RTP following among Canadian university football athletes.

An Efficient Approach to Sports Rehabilitation and Outcome Prediction Using RNN-LSTM

An Efficient Approach to Sports Rehabilitation and Outcome Prediction Using RNN-LSTM

Influence of head-mounted virtual reality (VR) on psychological and physiological responses in the heat

Evidence suggests that vision may play a role in the perception of temperature in humans (Mayes et al., 2023, J Therm Bio, 112, 103488). Virtual reality (VR) has garnered attention for its potential applications in various domains, including sports training and rehabilitation. However, the psychophysiological effects of using VR in hot environments remain relatively unexplored. The present study tested the hypothesis that a ‘cold’ visual environment would decrease thermal perception when compared to a ‘hot’ visual environment during passive heat exposure. Twelve healthy participants (2 females) [mean ± SD, age: 24 ± 5 years; stature: 174 ± 9 cm; mass: 72 ± 8 kg] provided their written informed consent to participate in this study. Ethical approval was obtained from the Faculty of Science and Health’s Ethics Committee at The University of Portsmouth. In a within-participant, randomised, controlled crossover design participants completed a familiarisation visit followed by three experimental sessions in 40°C (50% r.h.). The three conditions were: no virtual reality (NoVR), virtual reality displaying an arid landscape (HotVR), and virtual reality displaying a snow-covered landscape (ColdVR). Thermal sensation, thermal comfort, skin wetness, heart rate, rectal temperature, and four-site skin temperature were recorded. Mean skin temperature and mean body temperature were subsequently calculated. Data were analysed using a 3 (Condition [NoVR, VRHot, VRCold]) × 7 (Time [Pre, 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, 30-min post-VR exposure]) repeated measures ANOVA. The main effects of condition, time, and their interaction were explored, with statistical significance accepted at P &lt; 0.05. The use of VR in the heat resulted in increased thermal sensation, skin wetness, mean skin temperature, mean body temperature, and heart rate over time (all P &lt; 0.05). However, the manipulation of the visual environment did not alter perceptual or physiological variables (all P &gt; 0.05). Significant interaction effects were observed for mean skin temperature and mean body temperature; however, these minimal differences were considered not meaningful. In conclusion, these novel data indicate that using VR to manipulate the virtual environment in the heat does not meaningfully alter perceptual or physiological responses. These findings also suggest that VR may be used within settings such as the military and elite-sport without any deleterious effects. Future work should look to examine the effects of using VR whilst exercising on perceptual and physiological measures.

Dry Needling in Overhead Athletes with Myofascial Shoulder Pain: A Systematic Review.

The treatment of myofascial pain in athletes requires a set of rehabilitation techniques that aim to be effective quickly. In this context, dry needling (DNY) has shown interesting results due to its ability to reduce pain in the short term. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of DNY in managing myofascial shoulder pain in overhead athletes. PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were screened up to March 2024, to identify studies that met the following inclusion criteria: overhead athletes with shoulder pain with a DNY approach for myofascial trigger points (MTrPs), RCT, case-control study, feasibility study as the study design. Exclusion criteria were studies that did not include athletes, studies that did not focus on the treatment of MTrPs with DNY, other reviews, no full-text availability and papers written in a language other than English. Out of 399 articles, 165 were excluded as duplicates. Of the 234 articles screened, only 6 articles met the inclusion criteria. A total of 6 studies were included in the systematic review. Initial results showed that DNY improved pain rapidly and in the short term; however, there is still no consensus on the minimum number and the interval between treatments. Major findings reported a rapid potential decrease in perceived pain, shoulder disability and an increase in muscle strength; in this scenario, DNY might be a valid solution in a sports rehabilitation setting.

VR in Soccer Training

Nowadays virtual reality (VR) technology has been applied to many aspects of soccer training, and corresponding studies have been conducted in technical skills, cognitive psychology, tactical ability, and, sports rehabilitation. This paper explores the impact of VR on soccer training by reviewing a large amount of literature and integrating, summarizing, and concluding it. It has been found that VR has a significant effect on improving the technical skills, cognitive psychology, tactical ability, and sports rehabilitation of soccer players. For enhancing sports performance in the real world, VR technology has great potential for development in the future. However, it remains to be seen whether VR will be widely used by athletes, coaches, and sports organizations. With the current state of development, the functionality of VR systems will become more and more powerful in the future, as well as less costly, providing a more convenient channel for its application and popularization in soccer. Although the scientific evidence to prove its effectiveness is still weak, the practice of VR and soccer training innovations will occur more frequently and be more closely integrated with other advanced technologies, so that future research on this topic will be richer, deeper, and more comprehensive.

Psychological readiness for injury recovery: evaluating psychometric properties of the IPRRS and assessing group differences in injured physically active individuals

ObjectivesThe primary purpose of the study was to assess the one-factor and two-factor structure of the Injury Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport Scale (IPRRS) in an injured physically active...

Interventional effect of core stability training on pain and muscle function of youth with chronic non-specific lower back pain: A randomized controlled trial

Nowadays, due to lifestyle changes, the number of young people suffering from chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP) is gradually increasing. The recent guidelines for the treatment of low back pain emphasize that exercise therapy is the preferred treatment method for CNLBP. This study take ordinary college male students with CNLBP as objective of the study, focused into how core stability training affected the pain and muscle function of the CNLBP of youth. Herein, 60 male subjects were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group, and conducted a randomized control trial in the Sports Rehabilitation Laboratory of Guangxi Normal University from September to October 2023. The control group received traditional waist strength training, while the experimental group received core stability training. VAS scores, pain symptoms scores and clinical efficacy grades were evaluated. Waist muscles fitness was evaluated, including back muscle strength, the prone upper body up's static holding time, 1-min modified sit-ups' pcs, the supine abdominal curling's static holding time and the supine leg raising's static holding time. Waist movement function was also evaluated using oswestry disability index (ODI) questionnaire. Surface electromyographic (EMG) signals were collected from rectus abdominis, erector spinae and multifidus. The independent sample t-test was used to compare groups, and the paired sample t-test was used for the data comparison before and post-exercise within the group. The results of the study found that CNLBP was improved in both the experimental and control groups in the post-exercise. Compared to pre-exercise, there are significant decrease in the VAS scores (95%CI: 2.51 to 6.51, p = 0.000), pain symptoms scores (95%CI: 2.95 to 3.55, p = 0.000), waist movement function's evaluation scores for ODI (95%CI: 2.23 to 4.31, p = 0.000), rectus abdominis' IEMG values (95%CI: 2.29 to 4.39, p = 0.000), erector spinae and multifidus' IEMG values (95%CI: 2.18 to 4.45, p = 0.000) of experimental group in the post-exercise. Compared to pre-exercise, there are significant improvement in the back muscle strength (95%CI: 12.85 to 19.49, p = 0.000), the prone upper body up's static holding time (95%CI: 9.67 to 19.17, p = 0.000), the 1-min modified sit-ups' pcs (95%CI: 8.56 to 18.12, p = 0.000), the supine abdominal curling's static holding time (95%CI: 6.73 to 19.14, p = 0.000), and the supine leg raising's static holding time (95%CI: 8.21 to 18.35, p = 0.000) of experimental group in the post-exercise. In the post-exercise,there are significant lower in the VAS scores (95%CI: 1.41 to 4.98, p = 0.000), pain symptoms scores (95%CI: 1.14 to 1.79, p = 0.011), waist movement function's evaluation scores for ODI (95%CI: 1.13 to 2.25, p = 0.000), rectus abdominis' IEMG values (95%CI: 2.36 to 4.47, p = 0.000), erector spinae and multifidus' IEMG values (95%CI: 2.24 to 4.23, p = 0.017) of experimental group than those of control group. In the post-exercise, there are significant higher in the recovery rate (p = 0.000), the prone upper body up's static holding time (95%CI: 4.16 to 8.32, p = 0.008), and the supine abdominal curling's static holding time (95%CI: 3.89 to 7.44, p = 0.000) of experimental group than those of control group. Therefore, it can be concluded that core stability training is significantly effective in treating CNLBP in youth, enhancing lower back muscle function. This therapeutic effect is primarily attributed to the improvement in muscle function.

Biomechanical and Neuromuscular Insights into Deadlift Variations: Implications for Sports Science, Strength Training, and Rehabilitation

The deadlift is a fundamental exercise in resistance training, essential for the development of overall strength and power. This review synthesizes current research on kinematics and electromyographic (EMG) activity during deadlifts, highlighting the effects of different variations and techniques on performance and muscle activation. Kinematic studies have revealed significant differences in joint angles and movement patterns between conventional and sumo deadlifts, emphasizing the importance of technique and experience in optimizing performance and reducing injury risk. EMG analysis has also revealed distinct muscle activation profiles for key muscles, such as the vastus lateralis, gluteus maximus, and hamstrings, across different deadlift variations. These findings are critical for designing effective, individualized training programs in strength and conditioning, as well as developing targeted rehabilitation and injury prevention strategies in sports medicine. By understanding the biomechanical and neuromuscular dynamics of the deadlift, practitioners can improve performance, minimize injury risk, and tailor interventions to the specific needs of athletes. Thus, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of deadlift kinematics and EMG activity, offering valuable insights for optimizing training and rehabilitation protocols.

Sports Injuries Support: Towards a Proposed Intervention Program for Soccer Training

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between university football students' experiences of sports injuries and rehabilitation support, and the effectiveness of rehabilitation support provided to this group. The study adopted a mixed research method combining quantitative and qualitative methods, and data were collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The study population consisted of 180 football students from Jiaqing College and Guangzhou Sports Institute. It was found that the students demonstrated high levels of knowledge, preparation, and application of sports injuries, as well as positive attitudes towards all aspects of rehabilitation support (including physical rehabilitation, psychological support, functional recovery, rehabilitation goals and social support). Correlation analyses with the correlation between sports injuries and rehabilitation support showed a significant positive correlation, emphasizing the importance of rehabilitation support in dealing with sports injuries.

Clinical efficacy of a new type of Sports Rehabilitation Therapy Bed.

To prove that the "sports rehabilitation bed" is a device aimed at improving the precision of stretching, which can help to reduce the difficulty of rehabilitation therapy, cut down the manpower input of rehabilitation therapy, and shorten the therapy duration as well. This was a clinical comparative study. Twenty patients who underwent stretching therapy in Sichuan Province Orthopedic Hospital from June 2020 to August 2020 were randomly selected to carry out a control study on both lower extremities. The experimental group was given sports rehabilitation bed to assist rehabilitation therapy, while the control group was given conventional bare-handed stretching rehabilitation therapy. The stretching angle, stretching value, and the effective rate of stretching therapy between the two groups to analyze the clinical value of the new sports rehabilitation therapy bed. The stretching angle in the experimental group when using the sports rehabilitation therapy bed for stretching was lower than the conventional bare-handed stretching in the control group (T<0, P=0.05), with a statistically significant difference; the stretching values of the experimental group were lower than those of the control group(P<0.01), with a statistically significant difference. Moreover, the response rate of stretching therapy in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group(P<0.05), with a statistically significant difference. Sports rehabilitation therapy beds can results in the advantages of effectively preventing iatrogenic injury in the process of stretching, and providing a more accurate and convenient stretching therapy method than the current commonly used bare-handed stretching for sports rehabilitation and intervention.

Research on Positioning Tracking Mode of Sports Rehabilitation Training Based on Self-Powered Sensor Based on Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

The theme of today’s world is peace and development. A stable external environment has made people’s average life expectancy gradually increased, and the world is rapidly aging. Aging has brought many problems, such as the increase in the number of patients with limb dysfunction due to various diseases, which has gradually increased the demand for rehabilitation training. With traditional rehabilitation training methods, the training scenes are single and boring, and patients are prone to resisting. This paper designs and implements a real-time rehabilitation training guidance system based on self-powered sensors for the rehabilitation training needs of stroke patients. The system uses self-powered sensors to collect human motion information in real time, and compares it with the key posture sequences in the standard motion library to obtain corresponding matching results and guide patients to perform correct rehabilitation training. Using the rotation quaternion of 25 bone points in the patient’s rehabilitation exercise to calculate and update the rotation quaternion of the corresponding bone point of the character model, the function of the character model to follow the patient’s mirror motion is realized. This allows patients to control the completion of their rehabilitation movements without the need for medical staff to accompany them. And the stability of the system is optimized based on the particle swarm optimization algorithm. After traversal optimization, the current sensitivity coefficient of the model is reduced by about 75% compared with that before the correction, indicating that the current stability of the model obtained at this time has been improved to a certain extent. However, in the regression model of the self-powered sensor established by the particle swarm optimization algorithm, its parameters are reduced by about 82% compared with those before the correction, which shows that the current stability of the model has been greatly improved at this time, and the operating current of the receiving loop has been greatly improved.

A new approach to quantify asymmetry in human movement

In this perspective paper, we propose a new approach to quantify the asymmetries in human movement. Before describing this approach, we delve into the asymmetry in human movement, often defined as the opposite of symmetry, and its implications for studying human movement. We critically examine the various methods available to quantify and describe bilateral differences, from arbitrary thresholds (such as the commonly employed 10–15% difference) to the measure of the smallest meaningful changes, and we stress the need for consideration of interindividual variability in the analysis. Our proposal centers on a straightforward metric, the probability of agreement, and a corresponding plot summarizing the agreement between measures from two limbs. Critically, the agreement between two limbs depends on the value of the clinically acceptable difference. The agreement will increase with larger values of clinically acceptable difference and decrease with smaller values of clinically acceptable difference. Data from various movements and conditions in athletes’ sports training and rehabilitation are used to illustrate this approach. Our perspective provides valuable insights into the nature of asymmetry in human movement, considering that a rational understanding of asymmetry in human movement requires a thoughtful approach encompassing both statistical and clinical significance. The data and codes employed in our research are openly accessible in the supplementary materials, enabling others in the field to replicate and build upon our findings.

Light-Adaptive Human Body Key Point Detection Algorithm Based on Multi-Source Information Fusion.

The identification of key points in the human body is vital for sports rehabilitation, medical diagnosis, human-computer interaction, and related fields. Currently, depth cameras provide more precise depth information on these crucial points. However, human motion can lead to variations in the positions of these key points. While the Mediapipe algorithm demonstrates effective anti-shake capabilities for these points, its accuracy can be easily affected by changes in lighting conditions. To address these challenges, this study proposes an illumination-adaptive algorithm for detecting human key points through the fusion of multi-source information. By integrating key point data from the depth camera and Mediapipe, an illumination change model is established to simulate environmental lighting variations. Subsequently, the fitting function of the relationship between lighting conditions and adaptive weights is solved to achieve lighting adaptation for human key point detection. Experimental verification and similarity analysis with benchmark data yielded R2 results of 0.96 and 0.93, and cosine similarity results of 0.92 and 0.90. With a threshold range of 8, the joint accuracy rates for the two rehabilitation actions were found to be 89% and 88%. The experimental results demonstrate the stability of the proposed method in detecting key points in the human body under changing illumination conditions, its anti-shake ability for human movement, and its high detection accuracy. This method shows promise for applications in human-computer interaction, sports rehabilitation, and virtual reality.

The development and future of sports medicine in China

This article mainly introduces the development history and current situation of sports medicine in China, and deeply analyzes the problems that have emerged during the current development process, and proposes corresponding solutions. Based on this, the article proposes five key directions for the development of sports medicine, which are: developing arthroscopic minimally invasive techniques, ensuring the guarantee work for competitive sports, attaching great importance to the development of sports rehabilitation, vigorously carrying out exercise prescription and exercise assessment work, and emphasizing the training and education of sports medicine professionals. Finally, the article looks forward to the future development of sports medicine from three aspects: popularizing and expanding the influence of sports medicine through popular science promotion, improving the quality and safety of sports through health management and disease prevention, and achieving precise diagnosis and treatment through scientific research and innovation. It is hoped that this article will provide reference for the development of sports medicine in China.

“Research on the construction of internet based aerobics competitive ability assessment model”

A vast field that focuses on restoring motor abilities through exercise is known as sports rehabilitation training, which is also sometimes referred to as recovery athletic exercise. A background in sporting recovery can assist competitors in getting back into peak physical condition, recovering from injuries, preventing additional damage, and better coping with the demands of regular practice. The importance of sports rehabilitation teaching for physical activity is analyzed and discussed at length throughout this research. The definition of sports therapy is presented first, followed by an examination of how it might be used to fitness. Make use of this information as a reference to discover how to include physical therapy in the workout plan you use for sports conditioning. Many tried-and-true algorithms for monitoring patients' vitals over time have emerged as a result of widespread use and advancements in IHM technology, which has led to an increase in the number of such algorithms. The purpose of this research is to investigate the ways in which intelligent health monitoring systems can be applied to the process of developing rehab methods for athletes. It not only provides the structure for a smart wellness terminal, but it also offers the usual ways for monitoring a moving object. Methods such as this include the optical flow strategy, the frame contrast technique, and the background difference method, to name just a few examples. The process of rehabilitation that an athlete went through in X city is presented as an example to show the processes that are included in an ideal study. According to the findings of the study, 92.6 percent of the athletes with injuries were able to make a full recovery with the support of rehabilitative physical exercise. The researchers were able to determine this by keeping close track on the athletes' vital signs in real time using sophisticated health monitoring equipment.

3D human pose data augmentation using Generative Adversarial Networks for robotic-assisted movement quality assessment.

In the realm of human motion recognition systems, the augmentation of 3D human pose data plays a pivotal role in enriching and enhancing the quality of original datasets through the generation of synthetic data. This augmentation is vital for addressing the current research gaps in diversity and complexity, particularly when dealing with rare or complex human movements. Our study introduces a groundbreaking approach employing Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), coupled with Support Vector Machine (SVM) and DenseNet, further enhanced by robot-assisted technology to improve the precision and efficiency of data collection. The GANs in our model are responsible for generating highly realistic and diverse 3D human motion data, while SVM aids in the effective classification of this data. DenseNet is utilized for the extraction of key features, facilitating a comprehensive and integrated approach that significantly elevates both the data augmentation process and the model's ability to process and analyze complex human movements. The experimental outcomes underscore our model's exceptional performance in motion quality assessment, showcasing a substantial improvement over traditional methods in terms of classification accuracy and data processing efficiency. These results validate the effectiveness of our integrated network model, setting a solid foundation for future advancements in the field. Our research not only introduces innovative methodologies for 3D human pose data enhancement but also provides substantial technical support for practical applications across various domains, including sports science, rehabilitation medicine, and virtual reality. By combining advanced algorithmic strategies with robotic technologies, our work addresses key challenges in data augmentation and motion quality assessment, paving the way for new research and development opportunities in these critical areas.

An evaluation of physical medicine and rehabilitation accredited sports medicine fellowship websites.

Due to the virtual format of fellowship applications, prospective physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) sports medicine fellowship applicants commonly rely upon fellowship website content to make decisions about applications. Studies have shown that information available to fellowship applicants on program websites is inadequate, and there is no standard for important components of sports medicine fellowship websites. To determine what sports medicine fellowship program features PM&R residents, fellows, and attending physicians consider the most important to be listed on fellowship websites, as well as to assess the scope of information available on fellowship websites. We developed a 30-item list of criteria that fell into categories of general information, fellowship education, recruitment, experience, and academic research. Survey participants were asked to rank the importance of those various items. We then assessed the 21 PM&R accredited sports medicine fellowship websites for the presence of these criteria. Ninety-six survey respondents composed of PM&R residents, current sports medicine fellows, and attendings. Not applicable. Not applicable. Items ranked as most important were those in the categories of general information, fellowship experience, and fellowship recruitment. The most valued items were program location, program coordinator contact information, program length, specific requirements for applying, number of positions, types of procedures taught, and specific sites covered. Academic research items were ranked as least important. Survey respondents identified many fellowship website items as important factors when applying to programs. Many of these items were not listed on fellowship websites, suggesting that adding these criteria to fellowship sites might benefit applicants. Our findings can be used to develop standardized criteria for important components of sports medicine fellowship websites to improve the application and recruitment process.