Annals of Medicine

Integrative Neuromuscular Science Training and Musculoskeletal Health Across the Lifespan

Neuromuscular function and musculoskeletal health are the foundations of human movement, physical performance, and independence throughout life. From birth to old age, the integrity of muscle-tendon units, connective tissues, and brain control systems is crucial for effective force generation, coordination, and adaptability to physical demands. Alterations in neuromuscular function can occur due to aging, insufficient physical activity, excessive mechanical stress, musculoskeletal problems, or suboptimal use of training and rehabilitation methods. These alterations often manifest as reduced mobility, impaired performance, prolonged recovery, and increased risk of injury, impacting both clinical and physically active populations. A major difficulty in modern sports medicine and rehabilitation research is figuring out how to think of neuromuscular behavior as a dynamic and adaptable system instead of simply multiple separate mechanical parts.

Neuromuscular adaptations are complex and multifaceted processes influenced by mechanical, physiological, and biopsychosocial factors operating at multiple levels. Individuals and groups may have extremely different short- and long-term responses to training, soft tissue therapies, rehabilitation programs, recovery strategies, and pre-competition warm-up routines. Although these topics are becoming increasingly studied, there are still significant gaps in our understanding of how changes in tissue characteristics, neuromuscular performance, and functional outcomes occur. Improving this understanding is crucial to improving assessment accuracy, facilitating personalized treatments, and maximizing prevention and treatment methods. Integrating neuromuscular science with biomechanics, sports science, physiology, and clinical practice can increase translational relevance. This will help lead to evidence-based methods to support healthy aging, functional independence, sports performance, and musculoskeletal health.

This Article Collection aims to bring together interdisciplinary research addressing neuromuscular function, training-related adaptations, and musculoskeletal health across the lifespan. We welcome original research, systematic reviews, and clinically oriented studies focusing on soft-tissue and myofascial interventions (e.g., foam rolling, self-myofascial release, massage-based techniques), joint range of motion, neuromuscular performance, warm-up strategies, and post-activation performance enhancement. Additional topics include tissue hardness, mechanosensitivity, pain pressure threshold, and their relevance to function and recovery in athletes, ageing individuals, and clinical populations. Contributions exploring biomechanical and physiological mechanisms—combining systemic cardiorespiratory and metabolic responses with local muscle oxygenation, microvascular function, and peripheral fatigue markers—are particularly encouraged to provide an integrative perspective on functional capacity, rehabilitation, and musculoskeletal health.

Keywords:

1. Neuromuscular function
2. Neuromuscular performance
3. Soft tissue interventions
4. Physical training
5. Exercise and rehabilitation

Guest Advisor

Dr. Antonino Patti. Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement University of Palermo, Italy

Antonino Patti, PhD, is a researcher in sport and exercise sciences at the University of Palermo. His research focuses on neuromuscular function, soft-tissue interventions, biomechanics, and training-related adaptations across athletic, ageing, and clinical populations. He has authored and co-authored peer-reviewed publications on foam rolling, mobility, balance, and functional performance in sports medicine and rehabilitation contexts. His work integrates physiological, biomechanical, and applied perspectives to support translational and clinically meaningful research.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisors for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member). The Guest Advisors declare no Conflict of Interests.

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 30th November 2026.

Please contact Commissioning Editor Francis Straw at francis.straw@tandf.co.uk for more information and discount codes for this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select the Article Collection "Integrative Neuromuscular Science Training and Musculoskeletal Health Across the Lifespan" from the drop-down menu in the submission system. Please select either Sports Medicine & Musculoskeletal Disorders or Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation from the list of available sections during submission based on the scope of your manuscript. Failure to select the appropriate Article Collection or Section name can result in delays.