As we welcome in a New Year, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on what has been another significant year in the world of elite sport—and particularly in the realm of third-party medical indemnity insurance for those delivering care to high-performance athletes.
We’ve experienced continued evolution, and the global sports insurance market, including specialised indemnity arrangements, has shown steady growth, with increasing emphasis on tailored policies that address the unique risks faced by medical practitioners working pitch-side, in training facilities, or at major events. We’ve observed heightened awareness around the need for robust third-party coverage to protect against potential claims.
Many of you have navigated updated regulatory expectations, integrated new data-driven risk assessment tools, and ensured your indemnity arrangements fully encompass the full scope of your practice in elite environments. It’s heartening to see how the community continues to prioritise both athlete welfare and professional protection amid rising performance demands and complex multi-party dynamics.
Thank you for your continued trust and partnership throughout 2025. Whether you’ve been covering international competitions, supporting emerging talent, or managing ongoing care for established professionals, your dedication makes a profound difference to the safety and success of those you serve. As ever, here’s our round-up of key insights, articles, and updates that caught our attention last month. Do let us know if an event you would like us to include in the next edition, or any vacancies you might wish us to highlight.
Research, Articles and Podcasts
CARDIOLOGY
Artificial Intelligence – Risks, mitigations and the path to safe implementation in cardiovascular imaging https://heart.bmj.com/content/early/2025/06/26/heartjnl-2024-324612
Menopause – Cardiovascular adaptations to resistance training with different set configurations in postmenopausal women: A study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (CARE project) https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/11/4/e003052
Cardiac Screening – Outcomes of in elite para-football players in the United Kingdom https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/12/11/bjsports-2025-110406
GENERAL
Energy Availability – Impaired neuromusculoskeletal response to training stimuli associated with low energy availability: A systematic review https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2025/12/08/impaired-neuromusculoskeletal-response-to-training-stimuli-associated-with-low-energy-availability-a-systematic-review/
Musculoskeletal Injury Rehabilitation – Utility of hypoxic modalities for in athletes: A narrative review of mechanisms and contemporary perspectives https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2024.2416779
Menses – Study finds sports injuries sustained during a woman’s period might be more severe https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-sports-injuries-sustained-woman-period.html
Player Reflections On Change – 20 years of evolving demands and support in elite football https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/12/22/bjsports-2025-111313
Road to FAIR – Where are all the female, woman and girl athletes? Why are these groups chronically under-represented in research and what can we do about it? https://x.com/bjsm_bmj/status/1986183020676546890
Concussion – On-pitch concussion management: a view of healthcare professionals in elite football https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/11/4/e002805
FACT – Fear Avoidance after Concussion Tool: patient-reported outcome measure development and content validation https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/11/4/e002811
RTP and Concussion – Exercise intolerance and time to medical clearance to return to sport following sport-related concussion in adolescents https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/11/4/e002806
How Much Running Is Too Much? Identifying high-risk running sessions in a 5200-person cohort study https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/59/17/1203
Artificial Intelligence In Sport – A narrative review of applications, challenges and future trends https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2025.2518694
MSK
Hand Injuries – MSK Playbook https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2025/12/15/msk-playbook-hand-injuries/
Frozen Shoulder – Clinical outcomes of intra-articular corticosteroid injection vs. multimodal physiotherapy in short term: a randomized clinical trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41476186/
Spine Injury – Prehospital care of suspected spine-injured lacrosse athletes: a systematic search, evidence review, and consensus recommendations https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/59/9/630
Active Lumbar Spondylolysis – Immediate physical therapy is beneficial for adolescent athletes: a multicentre randomised trial https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2026/01/09/bjsports-2025-110606
Nonspecific Low Back Pain – Therapeutic exercise progression in patients: A systematic review https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12676137/
Acute Back Pain – Spinal manipulation and clinician-supported biopsychosocial self-management https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2843255
Hip Osteoarthritis – Cam morphology and the risk of developing radiographic hip osteoarthritis within 8 years: an individual participant data meta-analysis of 23 886 hips from the world COACH consortium https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/11/27/bjsports-2025-110144
Apophyseal Injuries – Distal-to-proximal progression of apophyseal injuries with age in male youth academy footballers: a two-season prospective cohort study of 16,024 player-seasons https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/59/23/1663
The MEniscal TeaR Outcome (METRO) study https://boneandjoint.org.uk/Article/10.1302/0301-620X.107B11.BJJ-2024-1429.R1
Anterior Cruciate Ligament – Rethinking arthrogenic muscle inhibition in injury and surgery https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12631
Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction – Landmarks to guide femoral insertion in lateral patellofemoral ligament reconstruction: An in vivo assessment of isometry https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12635
ACL Prehab – Prehabilitation prior to anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is a safe and effective intervention for short- to long-term benefits: A systematic review https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12631
ACL Reconstruction – quadriceps activation after ACL reconstruction: the early bird gets the worm! https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2025/01/20/quadriceps-activation-after-acl-reconstruction-the-early-bird-gets-the-worm/
Knee Osteotomy – Reducing unintended valgus deformity after supracondylar femoral derotational osteotomy: Influence of derotation amount and osteotomy method based on femoral antecurvature https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.70041
ACL – Current and future directions of anterior cruciate ligament surgery in sports: From the brain to the graft—Think outside the notch https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/11/4/e002811
Knee Arthroplasty – The ‘over-the-top’ technique allows for accurate and reproducible restoration of the native tibial slope in kinematically aligned total knee arthroplasty: A retrospective comparative analysis from the FP-UCBM Knee Study Group https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12750
Knee Arthroplasty – Optimising outcomes in lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty: Analysing 25 years of registry data https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12785
Knee Arthroplasty – Medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty after knee osteotomy is safe and effective in the absence of excessive valgus overcorrection https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12779
Knee Arthroplasty – Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty revisions to total knee arthroplasty https://boneandjoint.org.uk/Article/10.1302/0301-620X.107B12.BJJ-2025-0184.R2
Knee Arthroplasty – Preoperative knee joint hypothermia reduces inflammation and recovery time and increases range of motion after total knee arthroplasty: A randomized controlled trial https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12756
Knee Arthroplasty – Restoration of the trochlear peaks is unnecessary with a kinematic alignment-optimized femoral component as under-stuffing results in equivalent or better patient-reported outcome scores https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.12777
Knee Osteoarthritis – Effects of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization combined with exercise on knee joint muscle activity during walking in patients with moderate knee osteoarthritis: A randomised controlled clinical trial https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-28418-3
Ankle Fractures – Open reduction and fixation does not improve short-term outcome of medium-sized posterior fragments in AO type B ankle fractures: one-year results of the POSTFIX randomized controlled trial https://boneandjoint.org.uk/Article/10.1302/0301-620X.107B4.BJJ-2024-0521.R3
Achilles Tendinopathy – Biomechanical insights into Achilles tendinopathy risk and protection in runners: a large prospective study 4HAIE https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/12/07/bjsports-2025-110260
Achilles Tendon Rupture – Surgeon preferences, surgical location, and timing of repair drive achilles tendon rupture repair cost https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10711007251347278
Ankle Sprain Injuries – Systematic video analysis of ankle sprain injuries in elite male football (soccer): Injury mechanisms, situational patterns, biomechanics and neurocognitive errors study: A study on 140 consecutive players https://esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ksa.70049
RESOURCE ROUND-UP
Is radiotherapy for MSK injuries the latest in a line of flash-in-the-pan treatments, or is there more to it? https://bjsmbmj.podbean.com/e/is-radiotherapyformsk-injuries-the-latest-in-a-line-of-flash-inthepan-treatmentsor-is-there-more-toitgeoffscott-anddr-richard-shafferprovide-uswiththe/
The Postpartum Playbook with Margie Davenport. EP#576 https://bjsmbmj.podbean.com/e/the-postpartum-playbook-with-margie-davenport-ep576/
A Podiatrist’s Take on New Soccer Cleats for Women https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/podiatry/case-study/podiatrists-take-new-soccer-cleats-women
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
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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