Injury prevention within school-aged populations is a rapidly evolving area intersecting public health, sports medicine, and educational pedagogy. Musculoskeletal injuries and pain during childhood and adolescence can significantly impact students’ engagement in physical activity, well-being, academic participation, and may predispose them to long-term health risks. Despite the widespread recognition of these issues, injury prevention efforts in schools are challenged by a fragmented evidence base, disciplinary silos, and practical constraints faced by physical educators. The state of current knowledge emphasizes the importance of early identification of at-risk individuals, yet there remains a lack of consensus on feasible, valid, and teacher-friendly screening and intervention strategies that can be seamlessly implemented during regular physical education (PE) lessons. Recent studies show promise for targeted prevention programs and objective risk profiling, but large-scale, real-world adoption and integration with pedagogical outcomes are still limited.
This Research Topic aims to bridge the gap between injury prevention science and day-to-day physical education practice by promoting the development and validation of pragmatic, school-based approaches. Specifically, it seeks to connect accessible screening tools to actionable, scalable interventions designed for the PE environment. The goal is to foster research that demonstrates not only measurable reductions in injury risk and incidence but also advances in pedagogical outcomes—such as enhanced student engagement, confidence, physical literacy, and equitable, inclusive participation. Key objectives include identifying reliable screening batteries suitable for regular school use, establishing age- and sex-sensitive risk profiles, and evaluating the efficacy and sustainability of injury prevention interventions that can be embedded within diverse PE curriculums. Hypotheses underlying this research focus on the dual benefits of “prevention by design” to advance both health protection and educational progress for all learners.
The scope of this Research Topic encompasses multidisciplinary studies that align screening, risk stratification, and prevention with the practical realities and pedagogical priorities of PE in schools. Research is limited to interventions and assessments that are feasible for educators to implement within regular lesson constraints, ensure inclusivity, and prioritize both health and learning outcomes. To gather further insights, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Validation of practical screening and surveillance tools suitable for school PE settings
• Development of nuanced risk profiles considering age, sex, maturation, and contextual factors
• Assessment of scalable, embedded injury prevention routines and their effects on both injury and educational outcomes
• Mixed-methods research on feasibility, fidelity, acceptability, and sustainability of implementation in diverse school contexts
• Integration of accessible technology to enhance screening, monitoring, and teacher adoption
• Translation of prevention science into PE curricula and policy, with attention to equity, inclusion, and long-term impact
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
- Brief Research Report
- Conceptual Analysis
- Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
- Editorial
- FAIR² Data
- FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
- General Commentary
- Methods
- Mini Review
Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.
Keywords: physical education, injury prevention, youth, school-based screening, musculoskeletal health, physical fitness, movement quality, neuromuscular control, strength training, injury surveillance, implementation science, physical literacy
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
