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Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Towards a complex systems approach in sports injury research: simulating running-related injury development with agent-based modelling
British Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol.53(9), pp.560-569
2019
Abstract
Objectives There have been recent calls for the application of the complex systems approach in sports injury research. However, beyond theoretical description and static models of complexity, little progress has been made towards formalising this approach in way that is practical to sports injury scientists and clinicians. Therefore, our objective was to use a computational modelling method and develop a dynamic simulation in sports injury research. Methods Agent-based modelling (ABM) was used to model the occurrence of sports injury in a synthetic athlete population. The ABM was developed based on sports injury causal frameworks and was applied in the context of distance running-related injury (RRI). Using the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR), we simulated the dynamic relationship between changes in weekly running distance and RRI through the manipulation of various 'athlete management tools'. Results The findings confirmed that building weekly running distances over time, even within the reported ACWR 'sweet spot', will eventually result in RRI as athletes reach and surpass their individual physical workload limits. Introducing training-related error into the simulation and the modelling of a 'hard ceiling' dynamic resulted in a higher RRI incidence proportion across the population at higher absolute workloads. Conclusions The presented simulation offers a practical starting point to further apply more sophisticated computational models that can account for the complex nature of sports injury aetiology. Alongside traditional forms of scientific inquiry, the use of ABM and other simulation-based techniques could be considered as a complementary and alternative methodological approach in sports injury research.
Details
- Title
- Towards a complex systems approach in sports injury research: simulating running-related injury development with agent-based modelling
- Authors
- Adam Hulme (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and LawJason Thompson (Author) - University of MelbourneRasmus Oestergaard Nielsen (Author) - Aarhus University, DenmarkGemma J M Read (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and LawPaul M Salmon (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
- Publication details
- British Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol.53(9), pp.560-569
- Publisher
- B M J Group
- Date published
- 2019
- DOI
- 10.1136/bjsports-2017-098871
- ISSN
- 0306-3674; 0306-3674
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2018. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
- Organisation Unit
- Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science; School of Health - Psychology; School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450866302621
- Output Type
- Journal article
- Research Statement
- false
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Sport Sciences