title: 2016 Consensus statement on return to sport from the First World Congress in Sports Physical Therapy, Bern.
abstract: Deciding when to return to sport after injury is complex and multifactorial-an exercise in risk management. Return to sport decisions are made every day by clinicians, athletes and coaches, ideally in a collaborative way. The purpose of this consensus statement was to present and synthesise current evidence to make recommendations for return to sport decision-making, clinical practice and future research directions related to returning athletes to sport. A half day meeting was held in Bern, Switzerland, after the First World Congress in Sports Physical Therapy. 17 expert clinicians participated. 4 main sections were initially agreed upon, then participants elected to join 1 of the 4 groups-each group focused on 1 section of the consensus statement. Participants in each group discussed and summarised the key issues for their section before the 17-member group met again for discussion to reach consensus on the content of the 4 sections. Return to sport is not a decision taken in isolation at the end of the recovery and rehabilitation process. Instead, return to sport should be viewed as a continuum, paralleled with recovery and rehabilitation. Biopsychosocial models may help the clinician make sense of individual factors that may influence the athlete's return to sport, and the Strategic Assessment of Risk and Risk Tolerance framework may help decision-makers synthesise information to make an optimal return to sport decision. Research evidence to support return to sport decisions in clinical practice is scarce. Future research should focus on a standardised approach to defining, measuring and reporting return to sport outcomes, and identifying valuable prognostic factors for returning to sport.
authors.affiliation: Aspetar Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar Division of Physiotherapy, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Clare L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8102-3631
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Ardern
authors.affiliation: Sport Northern Ireland Sports Institute, Newtownabbey, UK School of Sport, Ulster University, Newtownabbey, UK.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Glasgow
authors.affiliation: School of Human, Health & Social Sciences, Central Queensland University, Branyan, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schneiders
authors.affiliation: Aspetar Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Witvrouw
authors.affiliation: Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Norway The Olympic Elite Sports Program (Olympiatoppen), Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Clarsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cools
authors.affiliation: Hôpital de La Tour, Swiss Olympic Medical Center, Meyrin, Switzerland Sports Medicine, Department for Human Locomotion, Lausanne University and Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gojanovic
authors.affiliation: College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Steffan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.affiliation: Center for Hip Health and Mobility, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Karim M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Norway The Olympic Elite Sports Program (Olympiatoppen), Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Håvard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moksnes
authors.affiliation: SPACE Clinics, Edinburgh, UK Scottish Rugby, Murrayfield Stadium, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mutch
authors.affiliation: School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: The Sports Physicians Group, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gustaaf
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reurink
authors.affiliation: Manchester City Football Club, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sadler
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA.
authors.forename: Karin Grävare
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Silbernagel
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Orthopedic Research Center-Copenhagen (SORC-C), Amager-Hvidovre Hospital, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Physical Therapy, Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Research-Copenhagen, Amager-Hvidovre Hospital, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thorborg
authors.affiliation: Aspetar Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Arnlaug
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wangensteen
authors.affiliation: Champion Sports Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Wilk
authors.affiliation: FIFA-Medical Assessment & Research Centre (F-MARC), Schulthess Clinic, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bizzini
mesh_terms: D056352:Athletes; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D000066491:Clinical Decision-Making; D003142:Communication; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D020127:Recovery of Function; D000068958:Return to Sport; D012307:Risk Factors; D013177:Sports; D013557:Switzerland
keywords: Consensus statement; Sport; Sports and exercise medicine; Sports physiotherapy