Evolution of documents related to biomechanics research in gymnastics

Abstract

Biomechanical analysis has been one of the most used procedures when aiming to improve performance in sports and is also very relevant and decisive in the final classification of competitive events in sports such as gymnastics. Hence, this study sought to provide an overview of the number of scientific literature publications related to biomechanics research in gymnastics. The document search was completed in March 2023 and reflected a bibliometric analysis considering the published manuscripts up to 31 December 2022. Data collection was performed on theWeb of Science, following the bibliometric analysis law, using Microsoft Excel and VosViewer Software (v1.6.19) for analysis and data processing. A total of 325 documents related to the topic under study were located. The results highlight that the older manuscripts date from 1980, with a growing trend of publications from that moment until now and a very visible increase in 2015, and that Sport Science is the category associated with more published manuscripts. A total of 30 manuscripts have 30 or more citations, 746 authors and co-authors are associated with the publications, and 58 co-authorships have published one or more studies. Moreover, 47 countries or regions have been associated with the topic under study, with the USA, England, and Australia being the countries with the most published articles and citations. The study also found that the highest frequency keywords are: “gymnastics” (n = 122), “biomechanics” (n = 73), “simulation” (n = 27), and “performance” (n = 25), considering the average year of publication of the documents, “balance” (n = 11), “artistic gymnastic” (n = 14) and “training” (n = 25) are the most frequently used terms. This study reveals that the topic of biomechanics in gymnastics has shown sustained growth and deserves the attention of the scientific community, but at the same time, there is still much room for research development.