Biomechanical Factors and Prevention Strategies for Sports-Related Muscle Injuries: A Narrative Review

Sports-related muscle injuries represent a major challenge in both recreational and professional sports, accounting for a substantial proportion of time-loss injuries and frequently leading to recurrent episodes. The aim of this narrative review was to analyze the biomechanical and neuromuscular mechanisms involved in the occurrence of muscle injuries and to synthesize evidence-based prevention strategies reported in the scientific literature. The literature search was conducted in the Web of Science database using the keyword "muscle injury prevention", focusing on studies published between 2010 and 2025. The analyzed literature indicates that muscle injuries are strongly associated with eccentric contractions at long muscle lengths, neuromuscular fatigue, strength imbalances, impaired lumbopelvic stability, and inadequate load management. Preventive strategies based on biomechanical principles, particularly eccentric strength training, neuromuscular training programs, and core stability exercises, have demonstrated consistent effectiveness in reducing injury incidence and recurrence rates across multiple sports disciplines. In addition, emerging technological approaches, including wearable sensors and machine learning models, show promising potential for injury risk prediction and individualized prevention strategies.