. 2025 Nov 27;56(1):1–22. doi: 10.1007/s40279-025-02339-7

Table 2.

Advantages and disadvantages of different technologies that can be used to assess deceleration

Technology	Advantages	Disadvantages
Laser	1. No pre-calibration required because of the distance being calculated from speed of light and time of flight from when laser emitted to being received (only zeroing) 2. Tracks specific target (i.e. lower back). Therefore, less sensitive to spurious reflections from other objects 3. Instantaneous feedback 4. Can be used indoors and outdoors to obtain the correct shoe-surface interaction 5. High sampling frequency (i.e. > 100 Hz)	1. Narrow targeting area requiring athletes to stay within a narrow linear running area. Therefore, restricted to deceleration measurement in linear tasks 2. Uses reflected pulsed infrared light to determine position of the athlete relative to the device. Therefore, to calculate deceleration requires double differentiation of distance 3. Cost
Radar	1. Wide measuring span 2. Quick to set up 3. Can be used indoors and outdoors to obtain the correct shoe-surface interaction 4. Sampling frequency of typical systems (i.e. 47–60 Hz) 5. 3D radar devices permit measurement of deceleration in multi-planar change of direction tests	1. Wide measuring span means care needs to be taken that moving objects are not within the range of the device 2. Some devices require long post-processing times, which can be time consuming 3. Multiple raters can affect reliability of measures when analysing data manually
Motorised resistance device	1. Can be used indoors and outdoors to obtain the correct shoe-surface interaction 2. Quick set-up (i.e. belt with cord attachment) 3. Easily integrated as part of a training session (i.e. invisible monitoring) that avoids the feeling of a “test session” 4. Instantaneous feedback 5. High sampling frequency (i.e. > 200 Hz)	1. Involves an external load, meaning deceleration is either assisted or resisted dependent on positioning of the motorised resistance device 2. External load in an assisted or resisted condition could change deceleration kinetics and kinematics from a natural unloaded condition 3. Cannot be used to measure an unloaded condition 4. Cost
Global navigation satellite system	1. Most teams have global navigation satellite system units and wear devices routinely in training, making testing of deceleration more efficient in training sessions 2. Can integrate invisible monitoring so deceleration assessment is integrated into training sessions (i.e. pitch-based warm-ups, conditioning and top-up sessions) 3. Multiple athletes can be assessed simultaneously 4. Possible for live feedback with some deceleration metrics 5. Global navigation satellite system units contain inertial sensors (i.e. accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer) that can be used to detect additional movement data	1. Requires individual trials to be extracted from session to conduct analysis 2. Accuracy can be affected by number of satellites detected 3. No immediate feedback for some deceleration metrics 4. Can only be used outdoors, meaning surface may be inconsistent 5. Lower sampling frequencies (i.e. < 25 Hz) in sport application makes accurate detection of rapid changes in velocity and identification of start/end of deceleration phase less accurate 6. Involves a wearable product, which can result in restricted athlete compliance 7. Cost when purchased for multiple users (i.e. team settings)
Video	1. Provides a visual record of performance for kinematic analysis relating to deceleration technique 2. Pose recognition and artificial intelligence-based software applications can provide analysis within a few minutes 3. Can be used indoors or outdoors to obtain the correct shoe-surface interaction 4. Cost-effective accessible feature on most smart phones and tablet devices with higher sampling rates possible (i.e. 120 Hz) 5. Allows a simultaneous assessment of the deceleration technique to identify possible technique deficits linked to sub-optimal performance and injury risk	1. Manual digitisation to attain centre of mass position and velocity can be time consuming with some systems 2. If a single camera is used, this needs to be positioned in a sagittal plane for assessment of whole-body deceleration metrics 3. When using automated pose recognition technology systems, there needs to be good contrast between the background and the athlete 4. Limited validity and reliability data for pose recognition and artificial intelligence-based software applications
Inertial measurement units	1. Not restricted to a laboratory with similar accuracy to laboratory-based motion cameras 2. Can be easily integrated with other technologies to provide more detailed insights into deceleration performance (e.g. step-to-step forces, ground contact times) 3. Can be used indoors and outdoors to obtain the correct shoe-surface interaction	1. Inertial measurement unit drift (i.e. gradual accumulation of errors in position, velocity or orientation) 2. Calibration procedures necessary prior to usage 3. Reliability in some cases decreases at higher movement speeds 4. Involves a wearable product, which can result in restricted athlete compliance 5. Cost

Technology

Advantages

Disadvantages

Laser

1. No pre-calibration required because of the distance being calculated from speed of light and time of flight from when laser emitted to being received (only zeroing)

2. Tracks specific target (i.e. lower back). Therefore, less sensitive to spurious reflections from other objects

3. Instantaneous feedback

4. Can be used indoors and outdoors to obtain the correct shoe-surface interaction

5. High sampling frequency (i.e. > 100 Hz)

1. Narrow targeting area requiring athletes to stay within a narrow linear running area. Therefore, restricted to deceleration measurement in linear tasks

2. Uses reflected pulsed infrared light to determine position of the athlete relative to the device. Therefore, to calculate deceleration requires double differentiation of distance

3. Cost

Radar

1. Wide measuring span

2. Quick to set up

3. Can be used indoors and outdoors to obtain the correct shoe-surface interaction

4. Sampling frequency of typical systems (i.e. 47–60 Hz)

5. 3D radar devices permit measurement of deceleration in multi-planar change of direction tests

1. Wide measuring span means care needs to be taken that moving objects are not within the range of the device

2. Some devices require long post-processing times, which can be time consuming

3. Multiple raters can affect reliability of measures when analysing data manually

Motorised resistance device

1. Can be used indoors and outdoors to obtain the correct shoe-surface interaction

2. Quick set-up (i.e. belt with cord attachment)

3. Easily integrated as part of a training session (i.e. invisible monitoring) that avoids the feeling of a “test session”

4. Instantaneous feedback

5. High sampling frequency (i.e. > 200 Hz)

1. Involves an external load, meaning deceleration is either assisted or resisted dependent on positioning of the motorised resistance device

2. External load in an assisted or resisted condition could change deceleration kinetics and kinematics from a natural unloaded condition

3. Cannot be used to measure an unloaded condition

4. Cost

Global navigation satellite system

1. Most teams have global navigation satellite system units and wear devices routinely in training, making testing of deceleration more efficient in training sessions

2. Can integrate invisible monitoring so deceleration assessment is integrated into training sessions (i.e. pitch-based warm-ups, conditioning and top-up sessions)

3. Multiple athletes can be assessed simultaneously

4. Possible for live feedback with some deceleration metrics

5. Global navigation satellite system units contain inertial sensors (i.e. accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer) that can be used to detect additional movement data

1. Requires individual trials to be extracted from session to conduct analysis

2. Accuracy can be affected by number of satellites detected

3. No immediate feedback for some deceleration metrics

4. Can only be used outdoors, meaning surface may be inconsistent

5. Lower sampling frequencies (i.e. < 25 Hz) in sport application makes accurate detection of rapid changes in velocity and identification of start/end of deceleration phase less accurate

6. Involves a wearable product, which can result in restricted athlete compliance

7. Cost when purchased for multiple users (i.e. team settings)

Video

1. Provides a visual record of performance for kinematic analysis relating to deceleration technique

2. Pose recognition and artificial intelligence-based software applications can provide analysis within a few minutes

3. Can be used indoors or outdoors to obtain the correct shoe-surface interaction

4. Cost-effective accessible feature on most smart phones and tablet devices with higher sampling rates possible (i.e. 120 Hz)

5. Allows a simultaneous assessment of the deceleration technique to identify possible technique deficits linked to sub-optimal performance and injury risk

1. Manual digitisation to attain centre of mass position and velocity can be time consuming with some systems

2. If a single camera is used, this needs to be positioned in a sagittal plane for assessment of whole-body deceleration metrics

3. When using automated pose recognition technology systems, there needs to be good contrast between the background and the athlete

4. Limited validity and reliability data for pose recognition and artificial intelligence-based software applications

Inertial measurement units

1. Not restricted to a laboratory with similar accuracy to laboratory-based motion cameras

2. Can be easily integrated with other technologies to provide more detailed insights into deceleration performance (e.g. step-to-step forces, ground contact times)

3. Can be used indoors and outdoors to obtain the correct shoe-surface interaction

1. Inertial measurement unit drift (i.e. gradual accumulation of errors in position, velocity or orientation)

2. Calibration procedures necessary prior to usage

3. Reliability in some cases decreases at higher movement speeds

4. Involves a wearable product, which can result in restricted athlete compliance

5. Cost

3D three-dimensional