Using markerless motion analysis to quantify sex and discipline differences in external mechanical work during badminton match play

The high prevalence of overuse injuries in badminton poses a major threat to player development and success, with current training ‘load’ metrics insufficient for capturing the physical demands. This study quantified the external mechanical work performed during badminton match play across different sexes and disciplines. An eight-camera system captured fourteen male and fourteen female competitive (University to national level) badminton players competing across a total of nine singles and six doubles matches. Markerless pose estimation (HRNet) was used to drive a kinematic model (OpenSim) of each player and compute mass-normalised external mechanical work and power for 30 points per match. A linear mixed effects model found normalised work and power to be greater in men’s vs. women’s matches (effect size [ES] ± 90% CI = 0.60 ± 0.29 and 1.10 ± 0.48, respectively). Normalised work and power were also greater in singles vs. doubles matches (ES = 0.44 ± 0.29 and 0.47 ± 0.44, respectively). Interestingly, discipline differences were greatest among the most skilled players (e.g. ES = 0.88 ± 0.49 for first-team males). These findings highlight the importance of additional strength training and adequate recovery for elite male players to manage the high physical demands of singles match play.