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Page 16 of 26 Chang et al. Soft Sci. 2026, 6, 29

the safety of the training process via the hybrid physiological monitoring.

Athletes’ health and fatigue status assessment
The precise assessment of athletes’ health and fatigue status is a vital prerequisite for the scientific training of
sports, the pre-emptive prevention of injuries, and the optimization of competitive performance. It is also a
hot topic in the field of sports science and sports medicine. The burgeoning of wearable sensing has brought
about promising opportunities with theoretical references and technical support for the construction of a
scientific and efficient athlete health management and fatigue monitoring system.

Peripheral muscle fatigue assessment
Peripheral muscle fatigue is characterized by the decline in muscle function after exercise. The core
mechanism involves the disorder of energy metabolism in muscle fibers, the imbalance of ion homeostasis
and the reduction of neuromuscular transmission efficiency. Multi-channel sEMG and HD-EMG
techniques, are favorable methods for quantifying peripheral muscle fatigue due to their advantageous
non-invasiveness and high spatiotemporal resolution. By comparing the EMG spectral characteristics and
spatial distribution patterns before and after training or during multiple training weeks, it is possible to
objectively determine potential signs of premature fatigue in the muscles, such as premature spectral decline
and hyperactivity of the synergic muscles. This is helpful for the setting of load progression rhythm and rest
intervals in the training plan to avoid functional decline caused by overtraining [141] . Moreover, for athletes
with a history of muscle injury, in progressive load tests, employing sEMG to monitor the
electrophysiological responses of injured muscle groups can identify the abnormal pattern of early fatigue
and compensatory activation, therefore assisting in determining the safe load threshold in case of injury.

Soft tissue stiffness and muscle injury assessment
Soft tissue stiffness changes are important biomechanical indicators for muscle injury, fatigue accumulation
and healing process. Acute muscle strain is often accompanied by an increase in local tissue stiffness, and the
abnormal elasticity of scar tissue in the later stage of injury may affect muscle function recovery and sports
performance. Traditional assessment methods employ ultrasonic shear wave elastography and magnetic
resonance imaging to accurately measure tissue stiffness. But they are limited by complex operation, high
cost, and difficulty in frequent clinical visit, and thus cannot meet the dynamic monitoring requirements in
training grounds or daily lives. The emergence of wireless mechano-acoustic wave (MAW) elastography
patches has effectively broken through this technical bottleneck with easy wearing, cost effectiveness and the
capability of long-term tracking. MAW elastography patches can continuously monitor the stiffness changes
of the injured area on the training ground or in daily life, accurately assess the healing stage, and provide an
objective basis for load adjustment in rehabilitation training. Especially during the concentrated season and
the high-incidence period of injury such as re-loading after injury, long-term monitoring of stiffness
dynamics can be conducted on easily injured muscle groups such as the posterior thigh muscles and the
triceps surae. When it is found that the muscle stiffness continuously increases, it indicates a great chance of
potential re-injury and calls for adjustment of the training plan [Figure 2B].
[142]
Formulation of training recovery and nutrition strategies
The scientific formulation of training recovery and nutrition strategies plays an important role in
maintaining competitive state, easing fatigue and preventing injuries. It is also the core direction for the
transformation of the field of sports science from “empirical regulation” to “precise intervention”. Emerging
wearable sensing technology can capture key physiological signals in the recovery process of athletes in real
time and in a multimodal way, such as metabolite levels, fluid balance status, body composition changes and
tissue repair microenvironment. The systemic analysis of these markers is propelling the transformation of
sports science from empirical regulation to precise intervention.