The use of inertial measurement units for analyzing change of direction movement in sports: A scoping review

Abstract

Change of direction movement is common in sports and the ability to perform this complex movement efficiently is related to athlete's performance. Wearable devices have been used to evaluate aspects of change of direction movement, but so far there are no clear recommendations on specific metrics to be used. The aims of this scoping review were to evaluate the reliability and validity of inertial measurement unit sensors to provide information on change of direction movement and to summarize the available evidence on inertial measurement units in analyzing change of direction movement in sports. A systematic search was employed in MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO host), SPORTDiscus (EBSCO host), EMBASE and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Web of Science to identify eligible studies. A complementary grey literature search was employed to locate non-peer reviewed studies. The risk of bias of the studies evaluating validity and/or reliability was evaluated using the AXIS tool. The initial search identified 15,165 studies. After duplicate removal and full-text screening 49 studies met the inclusion criteria, with 11 studies evaluating validity and/or reliability. There are promising results on the validity and reliability, but the number of studies is still small and the quality of the studies is limited. Most of the studies were conducted with pre-planned movements and participants were usually adult males. Varying sensor locations limits the ability to generalize these findings. Inertial measurement units (IMU) can be used to detect change of direction (COD) movements and COD heading angles with acceptable validity, but IMU measured or derived kinetic or kinematic variables present inconsistency and over-estimation. Studies can be improved with larger sample sizes and agreement on the metrics used and sensor placement. Future research should include more on-field studies.

Validity and reliability of inertial measurement units for jump height estimations: a systematic review

“…Thus, IMUs constitute a useful training tool, since athletes can use them in different contexts. For instance, IMUs can be applied to monitor sleep quality [13] and barbell velocity during strength and power training [14], as well as to detect changes of direction [15], apart from other uses [16]. Therefore, more than simply being used to assess vertical jump height, IMUs are also a suitable instrument for external load monitoring in sports that present a high volume of jumps, such as volleyball [17].…”

Automated Classification of Changes of Direction in Soccer Using Inertial Measurement Units

“…This study serves to fill an identified gap in the literature in the area of COD in soccer [ 14 ], being the first to attempt to automate the classification of COD and to use actual match play data, while also validating the COD identification against gold-standard manual notation analysis data.…”

“…Whilst the manufacturers of these wearable tracking devices may provide COD metrics, the validity, reliability and definition of these variables are unknown. Many studies have attempted to investigate COD using such devices [ 14 ], but they have (i) not been attempting to classify COD, (ii) not used actual match play data, and/or (iii) not validated the COD identification against gold standard manual notation analysis. A recent review [ 14 ] examining the identification of COD tasks specifically commented that whilst validity and reliability of automated approaches showed promise, future studies should be on-field, with large numbers of COD and standardised COD definitions.…”

Prediction of Kick Count in Triathletes during Freestyle Swimming Session Using Inertial Sensor Technology

“…The production of lightweight, low-cost, and widespread inertial sensors suitable to be embedded in wearable devices has led to their systematic use to monitor, in an unobtrusive way, human posture and motion in several fields such as assisted living [1][2][3][4][5][6], fitness tracking [7,8], and sports [9]. In the latter, the study of human body movements had great improvements in research, allowing the measurement of performance [10][11][12]. Several sports have successfully taken advantage of the use of inertial sensors, i.e., gyroscopes, accelerometers, and magnetometers, often included in a unique device identified as the inertial measurement unit (IMU) [13].…”