Momentum in women’s sport continues at pace, and for too long, standard insurance policies failed to account for pregnancy, contraception (often prescribed for underlying health conditions), menopause, miscarriage following sporting trauma, and complex conditions such as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S).
These gaps left both athletes —and the clubs investing in them—exposed at precisely the moments when support mattered most. We are therefore pleased to be a contributor to the government and the Women’s Football Taskforce on their excellent initiative to offer more appropriate support for female athletes. https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2026/march/major-breakthrough-for-female-athletes/
Richard Blain, CEO, said: “This is a positive step. For female athletes, the real test is not simply whether a product exists, but whether support works in practice with appropriate cover, access to specialist clinicians and clear pathways to care when it is needed. We welcome the Taskforce’s focus on ensuring that the needs of women and girls in sport are better understood and better served.”
Here are some of the other articles, resources and events that came to our attention in April. Please do let us know if there’s an upcoming event you’d like us to include in the next edition, and article you’d like us to highlight, or any vacancies you might wish to notify other members about.
Research, Articles and Podcasts
IMAGING
Menstrual Cycle – Knowledge, first- and second-hand experiences, personal opinions, and practices of players and staff from elite European women’s football clubs https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24733938.2026.2634312
Menstrual Status Prediction – Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry per cent fat Z-score as a predictor of menstrual status in adolescent and young adult female athletes https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/60/5/362
Cross-Country Skiers – Effects of 6-day ischaemic preconditioning on adaptations to an altitude training camp https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2026.2637208
Rugby Match Injury – Everything you ‘kneed’ to know about the highest burden match injury in professional men’s rugby union https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2026/03/13/everything-you-kneed-to-know-about-the-highest-burden-match-injury-in-professional-mens-rugby-union/
Long Covid – Post-exertional malaise and the myth of cardiac deconditioning: rethinking the pathophysiology of long covid https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/60/8/600
IMAGING
Sports Muscle Imaging – Imaging of muscle injuries in sports medicine: updated protocols and prognostic value. https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/abs/10.1148/radiol.2017160267
Myocardial Infarction – Clinical impact of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries: a prospective multicentre cohort study https://heart.bmj.com/content/112/2/95
Integrated Imaging Strategies – Precision diagnostics gain momentum https://appliedradiology.com/articles/precision-diagnostics-gain-momentum-through-integrated-imaging-strategies
MSK
Bone Stress Injury – Epidemiology of bone stress injury in Division 1 National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletes from 2016 to 2022 https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2026/04/08/bjsports-2025-110888
Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome – Physiotherapist-led treatment: an assessor-blinded, limited disclosure randomised controlled trial https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2026/05/03/bjsports-2025-110986
Groin Pain Management – Inguinal-related groin pain in athletes: current understanding, assessment and management https://www.dovepress.com/inguinal-related-groin-pain-andor-disruption-in-athletes-current-under-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-OAJSM
ACL Injury Prevention – Warm-up is not a workout: a principles-based critique of continued efforts to use warm-up programmes https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2026/04/02/bjsports-2025-110614
ACL Rupture – Incidence of meniscal tears in skeletally immature patients with anterior cruciate ligament https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12729
Total Knee Arthroplasty – Kinematic alignment preserves the mid-flexion trochlear line orientation: A prospective analysis from the FP-UCBM Knee Study Group https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12810
Chronic Patellar Tendinopathy – Fat pad debridement prolongs return-to-sport: A meta-analysis and meta-regression of surgical interventions https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.70284
PTT – The meniscofemoral ligaments do not contribute to restriction of posterior tibial translation: A robotic biomechanical analysis https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12812
Ankle – CFL rupture is a negative prognostic factor for return to sport after endoscopic Broström-Gould https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.70358
CARDIOLOGY
Masters Athletes – Masters athletes with abnormal cardiovascular findings: clinical consensus. https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2026.03.025
Vitamin K – Timeless therapeutics: cardiac indications for vitamin K antagonists in clinical practice https://heart.bmj.com/content/early/2026/02/27/heartjnl-2024-324551
AI – Utilising multimodal artificial intelligence to advance cardiovascular diseases https://academic.oup.com/pcm/article/8/3/pbaf016/8205560
GENERAL
Fitness Under Fire -A sports and exercise medicine framework to maintain fitness in the context of modern global conflict, enforced confinement and possible radiation exposure https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2026/04/13/bjsports-2026-111849
Delayed Body Literacy In Elite Female Athletes – A lived experience at age 30 https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2026/04/14/bjsports-2026-111873
Taping – Does KT tape actually work? New research raises questions https://healthcare.msu.edu/news/2026-5-1-Does-KT-Tape-Actually-Work-New-Research-Raises-Questions.html
High-Speed Running And Injury Risk In Soccer – A systematic review https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1798241
Insurance for Elite Female Athletes – Major breakthrough in improved insurance products for female sports stars https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2026/march/major-breakthrough-for-female-athletes/
Concussion in Rugby – Domain-specific concussion knowledge and reporting in Major League Rugby players. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsc.70180
Athlete Energy Availability – Dietary determinants associated with low energy availability among athletes https://opensportssciencesjournal.com/VOLUME/19/ELOCATOR/e1875399X449583/FULLTEXT/
RESOURCE ROUND-UP
Medial Ankle Scanning Tip https://x.com/mskfreak/status/2056366956530356676
NFL Achilles Rupture Trend Data https://x.com/HelenHowOsteo/status/2056334873044938756
The Bone & Joint Journal Podcast – Supervised versus self-managed rehabilitation for patients with an acute first-time or recurrent patellar dislocation: the PRePPeD external pilot RCT and embedded qualitative study https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/supervised-versus-self-managed-rehabilitation-for-patients/id1444238743
Stay in Play – A FIFA decision aid for football participation during pregnancy https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/60/10/714
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
The International Conference on Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport – 16 – 18 June 2026, Bath https://www.bath.ac.uk/events/the-international-conference-on-injury-and-illness-prevention-in-sport/
International Sports Surgery & Medicine Conference – 20th – 22nd July, Glasgow https://rcpsg.ac.uk/education/international-sports-surgery-and-medicine-conference-glasgow-2026
Protecting Mental Health in Sport + Exercise Conference – August 17-18th 2026, Colorado Springs https://promiseconference.co.uk/product/promise-2026-delegate-ticket/
Dutch Conference of Sports & Exercise Medicine – Nov 26-27, Rotterdam https://www.sportgeneeskunde.com/dcsem/
The World Congress of Sports Physiotherapy – December 4–5, 2026, Bern https://wcspt.com/
Do let us know your feedback, and any suggestions you have for websites, apps or networks for inclusion in future bulletins.
DISCLAIMER: Horizons is intended as a helpful round-up for members of potentially interesting articles/opinions that have been shared online. SEMPRIS are not qualified to make/infer any clinical judgements, and the inclusion of content, events and resources does not imply endorsement.
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