About This Special Issue

Asymmetry is a hot topic in sports but is often plagued with myths and misconceptions. Asymmetry is a natural phenomenon, from particle physics to biology, and is therefore ubiquitous in human constitution and human performance. This includes bilateral asymmetry and, within it, inter-limb asymmetry, which raise passionate debates in the sports science and sports medicine communities.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide references and insights for scholars and researchers in the field of bilateral asymmetry. We would like to invite you to contribute articles free of charge that discuss recent advancements regarding the role of bilateral asymmetry in sports performance, injury risk, and injury prevention.

Key topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Bilateral Asymmetry
Inter-limb Asymmetry
Asymmetry and Performance
Asymmetry and Injury Risk
Asymmetry and Injury Rehab

The accepted article types and their specific requirements are presented below.

Empirical studies:

Intervention studies with at least two groups and lasting a minimum of 8 weeks, but preferably longer. The comparator group can be a passive control group, or a group engaged in a different protocol. For example, two training groups within a team is acceptable. However, studies must be adequately powered, using reasonable/justifiable a priori effect sizes and aiming to achieve a statistical power of at least 80%.

Special requirements for randomized studies: because these studies should be gold standard, authors must follow CONSORT guidelines, present a CONSORT checklist, and make proof of pre-registered or pre-published protocol.

Observational studies focused on how asymmetry indices fluctuate over time, lasting a minimum of 6 months and presenting data for a minimum of three time points.
Cross-sectional studies that compare magnitude and directionality of asymmetry across different sports with distinct characteristics OR across different age groups/sex within the same sports organisation. However, authors must avoid all speculation regarding causal relationships between the observed data and sport performance or injury risk.
Special requirements for empirical studies on injury rehabilitation: to avoid biased interpretations of data, these papers must have: (i) pre-injury data; (ii) post-injury data; AND (iii) post-rehab data. Without all three, the manuscript will not be considered for publication.

Methodological papers:

Focused on specific problems related to assessing asymmetry and how to resolve them (e.g., test selection and reliability, statistical analysis procedures).

Systematic reviews (other types of reviews are not accepted):

Must add novelty to the literature (i.e., review that has not been performed before) OR update reviews published before 2010 OR clearly identify methodological problems with existing reviews and provide an improved version.
Strictly following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and presenting a PRISMA 2020 checklist is mandatory.
Pre-registered or pre-published protocol is mandatory.
Preferably, systematic reviews should include meta-analysis. In its absence, a proper justification for the reasons why must be provided.

Opinion pieces:

These works should tackle hot topics that are controversial, while providing a balanced approach.

Point-Counterpoint:

Opinion pieces that provide strong argumentations towards both sides of a contentious discussion. After a brief introduction, the paper must present arguments in favour of a certain approach, followed by arguments of the opposing view, and wrapped up with a brief section with concluding remarks.

Submission Guidelines

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit empirical studies, methodological papers, systematic reviews, opinion pieces, and point-counterpoint debates (see requisites above) that address the aforementioned topics. All submissions will undergo a single-blind peer-review process with at least two review reports received to ensure the quality and relevance of the published work as the regular submission. Articles are published online immediately upon acceptance. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication is fully waived for this special issue.

Manuscripts should be prepared according to the journal's Instructions for Authors and submitted through the online submission system.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Editorial Office or the Guest Editors.

Asymmetry

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