title: How much is too much? (Part 1) International Olympic Committee consensus statement on load in sport and risk of injury.
abstract: Athletes participating in elite sports are exposed to high training loads and increasingly saturated competition calendars. Emerging evidence indicates that poor load management is a major risk factor for injury. The International Olympic Committee convened an expert group to review the scientific evidence for the relationship of load (defined broadly to include rapid changes in training and competition load, competition calendar congestion, psychological load and travel) and health outcomes in sport. We summarise the results linking load to risk of injury in athletes, and provide athletes, coaches and support staff with practical guidelines to manage load in sport. This consensus statement includes guidelines for (1) prescription of training and competition load, as well as for (2) monitoring of training, competition and psychological load, athlete well-being and injury. In the process, we identified research priorities.
authors.affiliation: Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Torbjørn
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8863-4574
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Soligard
authors.affiliation: Section Sports Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute for Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Research, University of Pretoria, Hatfield,Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwellnus
authors.affiliation: Sports Medicine Department, Aspetar, Qatar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Juan-Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Sports Medicine Department, Aspetar, Qatar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway Olympic Training Center (Olympiatoppen), Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Roald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bahr
authors.affiliation: Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway Olympic Training Center (Olympiatoppen), Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Clarsen
authors.affiliation: Sports Medicine Department, Aspetar, Qatar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: H Paul
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Dijkstra
authors.affiliation: School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gabbett
authors.affiliation: School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gleeson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6883-1471
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hägglund
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.affiliation: Section Sports Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute for Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Research, University of Pretoria, Hatfield,Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Janse van Rensburg
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Practice, Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Karim M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Human Physiology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meeusen
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Orchard
authors.affiliation: Medical Department, Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Association, Amersfoort, The Netherlands Amsterdam Collaboration on Health and Safety in Sports, IOC Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health, VUmc/AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Babette M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Pluim
authors.affiliation: World Rugby, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raftery
authors.affiliation: Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Budgett
authors.affiliation: Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Engebretsen
mesh_terms: D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012090:Cumulative Trauma Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011364:Professional Practice; D000068958:Return to Sport; D012307:Risk Factors; D013178:Sports Medicine; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014195:Travel; D016526:Workload
keywords: Fatigue; Injury; Load; Recovery; Well-being