The study appears in the International Journal of Applied and Scientific Research (IJASR), Volume 4, Issue 9, pages 675–686. The authors examined evidence from empirical studies to understand how wearable sensors have been applied during soccer-related activities and how useful they are for practical sports settings.
Soccer requires players to repeatedly perform high-intensity movements, including sprinting, accelerating, decelerating, changing direction, jumping, landing, and kicking. These movements place considerable mechanical demands on the lower limbs, particularly the knees, ankles, hips, hamstrings, and other structures involved in movement and stability.
Lower-limb injuries can interrupt training and competition and may require lengthy rehabilitation. Biomechanical assessment can provide information about movement patterns, differences between the two limbs, loading responses, and changes that occur during rehabilitation.
Moving Biomechanical Assessment From the Laboratory to the Field
Traditional biomechanical assessment often relies on technologies such as force plates, motion-capture systems, and controlled video analysis. These approaches can provide detailed measurements, but their use during real soccer activities can be challenging because of equipment requirements, cost, and the need for controlled testing environments.
Wearable inertial sensors provide a more portable alternative. Devices such as inertial measurement units (IMUs), accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS-integrated accelerometry systems, and pressure sensors can be attached to different parts of an athlete's body.
In the review by Muhara and colleagues, sensors were placed in locations including the trunk, pelvis, thigh, shank, tibia, ankle, and foot. Placement depended on the type of movement and biomechanical information being measured.
The researchers searched the Scopus database using the PRISMA 2020 framework. The initial search identified 155 records, while 26 empirical studies ultimately met the inclusion criteria. The studies, published between 2018 and 2026, involved soccer players from different competitive levels, including youth, amateur, collegiate, semi-professional, and professional athletes. Some studies also involved players undergoing rehabilitation after lower-limb injuries.
Sensors Capture Soccer-Specific Movements
The review found that wearable sensors have been used to monitor a wide range of soccer-specific activities. These include:
sprinting and running;
cutting and rapid changes of direction;
acceleration and deceleration;
jumping and landing;
hopping;
balance activities;
kicking; and
rehabilitation exercises.
The measured variables also varied across studies. Sensors were used to collect information about joint kinematics, tibial acceleration, PlayerLoad, loading response, movement asymmetry, and center-of-pressure variables.
During cutting and change-of-direction movements, for example, sensor-based measurements can provide information about knee and hip movement, knee flexion, tibial acceleration, and other indicators associated with lower-limb loading. Such information can help practitioners identify movement patterns that may require further assessment.
During running and sprinting, sensors can provide data on tibial acceleration, lower-limb kinematics, angular velocity, PlayerLoad, and movement symmetry. These measurements may help practitioners understand the physical demands placed on players during training and competition.
Supporting Rehabilitation and Return to Play
One of the important applications identified in the review is rehabilitation monitoring. After a lower-limb injury, players typically undergo a series of assessments before returning to full training and competition.
Wearable sensors can provide additional information about movement asymmetry, loading patterns, jumping ability, stability, and other functional characteristics. This information may assist medical professionals, rehabilitation specialists, and coaches in monitoring changes throughout the recovery process.
However, Muhara and his colleagues emphasize that return-to-play decisions should not rely solely on sensor data. Clinical examination, functional testing, psychological readiness, and sport-specific performance also need to be considered when evaluating whether an athlete is ready to return to competition.
The same principle applies to injury prediction. Wearable sensors can help identify movement characteristics or mechanical loads that deserve attention, but the current evidence does not support using them as standalone tools for predicting whether an individual player will sustain an injury.
Standardization Remains a Major Challenge
The review also identified considerable variation among existing studies. Researchers used different sensor technologies, anatomical placements, movement protocols, participant populations, and biomechanical variables. These differences make it difficult to directly compare results across studies.
The validity and reliability of wearable sensors can also depend on the specific device, parameter, and testing procedure. The authors therefore call for more standardized protocols and stronger validation against established biomechanical systems, including motion-capture technologies and force platforms.
For soccer clubs, coaches, medical teams, and sports practitioners, the findings suggest that wearable sensors can become part of a broader athlete-monitoring system. Regularly collected data may provide additional information for managing training loads and monitoring rehabilitation progress.
At the same time, the technology needs to be interpreted carefully. Sensor measurements are most useful when combined with clinical assessments, functional tests, and information about the player's training and competition context.
Opportunities for Future Research
Muhara, Juhanis, Muslim, and Hasmawaty recommend further longitudinal research involving larger and more diverse athlete populations. Future studies should include more female players, youth athletes, and players from different competitive levels.
The researchers also highlight the need for standardized sensor placement, measurement procedures, reliability testing, and interpretation frameworks. Such developments could help determine whether sensor-derived biomechanical indicators can provide clinically meaningful information for injury prevention and return-to-play decisions.
Overall, the systematic review presents wearable inertial sensors as a practical complementary technology for field-based biomechanical assessment. The devices can capture information that would be difficult to obtain using conventional laboratory equipment during realistic soccer activities. Their greatest value, according to the reviewed evidence, lies in supporting—not replacing—professional assessment of player movement, workload, rehabilitation, and readiness to return to sport.
Author Profile
Abriadi Muhara is affiliated with Makassar State University, Indonesia, and is the corresponding author of the article. His research interests include sports science, sports performance, biomechanics, and athlete-related research.
Juhanis, Muslim, and Hasmawaty are also affiliated with Makassar State University and contributed to the systematic review of wearable sensor applications in soccer biomechanics.
The source article does not provide the academic degrees of the individual authors, so specific degree titles are not added here to avoid presenting unverified information.
Research Source
This version keeps the language accessible for general readers while preserving the study's key evidence, limitations, and practical implications.
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