Abstract
Aim: Although success in sports depends on many factors, it is generally attributed to the development of physical performance parameters and specific skill level. It is imperative that these components, which are the leading indicators of sportive success, be developed with scientific training methods. Previous systematic reviews have evaluated the effects of BNA on injury prevention in general. However, there is a lack of studies in the literature evaluating the effect of BNA on physical performance and specific skill. The purpose of this review is to determine the effectiveness of studies reporting the effects of BNA added to the routine training program on physical performance and specific skills in young athletes, to present the results in a systematic way and to make suggestions for future research.
Methods: The current study used the systematic review method and acted according to the updated PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines. Selected keywords were systematically searched in 4 international electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO Medline) in English. Keywords scanned are: (“integrative* neuromuscular training” OR “neuromuscular training” OR “concurrent training” OR “combined training” OR “plyometric training” OR “strenght* training” OR “sprint* training” OR “agility* training” OR "balance training" OR "dynamic stability training" OR "coordination* training" OR "fatigue endurance training") NOT ("older*" OR "elder*" OR "adult*"). Broadcasts were limited to January 2018-June 2022, and the last scan was carried out on 26 June 2022.
Results: According to the keywords, 1846 publications were reached at the beginning and 943 studies that were stated to be duplicates were eliminated. After the titles and abstracts of the remaining publications were evaluated independently by two authors, 816 publications that did not meet the study criteria were removed. Among the remaining 87 studies, the full text of 8 publications could not be reached. When the full texts of 79 publications were examined, 60 studies were excluded because they did not meet the eligibility criteria of the current research. The remaining 19 studies were included in this systematic review. In addition, the references (n=902) of the 19 included articles were also reviewed for potential relevance, and 1 more study was added to the existing research. As a result, 20 studies were analyzed in the systematic review.
Conclusion: It has been demonstrated that BNA applied for at least 4 weeks after the general warm-up and at least 2 sessions per week can generally improve performance and skill in the pediatric population. However, it has been shown that combined exercises have a greater effect on performance compared to the single component exercise variant. Within the study findings, it is recommended that coaches and athletes include all skill-integrated sub-component BNA in their normal training programs, taking into account the specificity of the sport in terms of improving performance and skill. Researchers are encouraged to examine the effect of all subcomponent BNA combined with fatigue resistance and dexterity, particularly on speed, endurance, and strength performance in the female population.