Systematic Review of Exercise Interventions in Archery: Injury Management and Performance Outcomes

Background. Exercise-based interventions are increasingly incorporated into archery training to enhance performance and reduce injury risk. However, the extent to which these interventions directly contribute to injury management and performance improvement remains unclear. Objectives. This systematic review aimed to examine the effects of exercise interventions on injury management and performance improvement in archers. The review synthesizes 10 years of evidence (January 2015–April 2025) to provide recommendations for developing targeted exercise programs that address both performance optimization and injury prevention. Materials and Methods. A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus, yielding 767 articles. Studies were screened according to predefined inclusion criteria, resulting in 15 eligible studies. Extracted outcomes included shooting accuracy, postural control, muscle strength, and indicators relevant to injury management. Methodological quality was assessed using the SQAC, with all included studies scoring ≥50%, indicating acceptable-to-high methodological rigor. Due to heterogeneity in study designs, interventions, and outcome measures, a meta-analysis was not performed. Results. Most studies focused primarily on performance enhancement rather than direct injury management. Nonetheless, several exercise interventions demonstrated indirect benefits relevant to injury management and prevention, including improvements in postural stability, neuromuscular control, and muscular endurance. Core stability training, Pilates-based balance training, circuit training, and strength conditioning consistently produced significant improvements in postural stability (moderate-to-large effect sizes), muscle strength, and shooting accuracy. Targeted exercises such as lower trapezius strengthening, compound weight training, and archery-specific drills further enhanced accuracy, endurance, and neuromuscular coordination. Conclusions. Exercise interventions meaningfully improve key performance outcomes in archers and may provide indirect benefits for injury prevention through improvements in strength, balance, postural control, and neuromuscular stability. Future research should incorporate standardized exercise protocols and prioritize larger randomized controlled trials explicitly examining injury-related outcomes to strengthen evidence-based practice in archery.