Contents



Preface

Sports in ancient times were mostly associated with games, entertainment, and competitions. The history of sport across different civilizations and countries has shown how the sports "games" have evolved in terms of structures, resources, and rules, moreover how sports have been used in global challenges through organized sporting activities. Often cited, Baron Pierre de Coubertin's perception of sport is as a basic right and the importance of participating rather than triumphing. His ideas boosted the influence of sports on education and government policies. The impact of sport on morale, motivation, and physical strength was recognized quite early.

However, in this era of high sedentary lifestyles, understanding and promoting the correlation between sport and human health is of paramount importance, be it to improve quality of life or simply as a matter of enhancing productivity within an organization. Thus, sports are multidimensional, are referred to as disciplines and, beyond entertainment, a science. Sports science together with human health and

"Sports Science and Human Health - Different Approaches" is a compilation of state-of-the-art knowledge about technological developments in sports from diverse perspectives, such as performance management, burnout and stroke detection, and improvement of motor-skills. The readers will be amazed by the adoption of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, wearable devices, and cloud services in sports matters. Nevertheless, the book also conceals non-technical topics, for example, pertaining to the promotion of peace among nations, and on

Anyone simply seeking deeper knowledge about Sports Science or looking for research avenues in view of a doctoral study for instance will find in this book some takeaway information. The content is of a very high standard written by authors

The book would have been incomplete without the contributions of the authors, whom we wish to thank heartfully. A vote of thanks too, to the Author Service Manager, Miss Kristina Kardum Cvitan, and the whole IntechOpen team for the

**Dr. Daniel Almeida Marinho and Dr. Henrique Pereira Neiva**

Research Centre in Sports, Health and Human Development,

Department of Sport Sciences,

University of Beira Interior,

Portugal

technology are actually the vertices of the same triangle.

with different scientific backgrounds and research interests.

personal development.

achievement of this book project.
