Introduction
Sport is an activity that is in a state of constant and dynamic evolution. These characteristics
are essential to ensure its entertainment value. Currently, sport is undergoing significant
changes in the way it is managed, trained for, and even competed in. The current trend
in sport regarding physical and physiological demands is typified by an increase in
the intensity and frequency of competition. This could lead to a disturbance in physical
and mental performance due to different external and internal factors (Halson, 2014).
In the last decade, high-intensity competition and training (Di Salvo et al., 2009;
Bradley et al., 2010, 2011; Carling et al., 2012; Gabbett, 2015) has defined sports
performance in many disciplines. Match congested tournaments and periods of high-frequency
training and competition in team sports are increasingly common (Dellal et al., 2013;
Rojas-Valverde et al., 2018; Birdsey et al., 2019; Pino-Ortega et al., 2019). In endurance
events, there is a rise not only in the number of competitions but in the intensity
and volume of these events. This could lead to serious future complications that could
be avoided by preventive and recovery injury protocols (Chlíbková et al., 2015; Rojas-Valverde
et al., 2019; Rubio-Arias et al., 2019; Gutiérrez-Vargas et al., in press).
This dynamic in endurance and anaerobic sports is causing an increase in the amount
of injuries and their relapse due, among other things such as repeated high-intensity
(Bengtsson et al., 2013; Carling et al., 2016) and long-endurance activity (Small
and Relph, 2018; Warrick et al., 2019), to insufficient rest and recovery between
exertions. Therefore, nowadays, high performance is achieved according to the capacity
to recover better and faster between psychobiological efforts (Bauman, 2005). Effective
recovery from training and competitive loads represents the difference between success
and failure in sport (Kellman, 2002). That is why the scientific community has been
tasked to study various methods of recovery from both physical and mental fatigue
(Kellmann et al., 2019). In this sense, optimal protocols are needed in order to maintain
an athlete's abilities and determine recovery pathways to maximize performance after
fatigue or injury (Fowles, 2006). Additionally, the implementation of appropriate,
sensitive, and reliable methods to assess and mitigate fatigue and injuries is needed
because it can provide information not only on physical and mental condition but on
the prevention and evolution of physical performance during this complex process (Thorpe
et al., 2017).
This change in sports dynamics puts high stress on the athlete (Taylor et al., 2012;
DiFiori et al., 2014), and it is required that he maintain sport form and recover
it quickly when an adverse situation arises (Kellmann, 2010), for example, an injury.
This need to recover as soon as possible is based on the fact that there is evidence
that if this process is not carried out properly, in an adequate and timely manner,
athletes may experience persistent functional impairment of the injured structure
(Orchard and Best, 2002; Maniar et al., 2016) and reduced functional capacity to perform
sport-specific movement (Silder et al., 2010a; Fyfe et al., 2013), and could lead
to adaptive changes in the locomotor patterns of sport-related movements (Silder et
al., 2010b; Sole et al., 2012).
During the treatment of an injury, the athlete receives attention from several providers
such as medical doctors, physical therapists, psychologists, nutritionists, coaches,
and sport scientists (Kraemer et al., 2009). These professionals are responsible for
guiding the athlete through different phases of the return to activity before full
medical clearance is given. At some point in the recovery process, once there is no
pain, the athlete enters a stage where the objective is the improvement of proprioception,
coordination, strength, and endurance and initiates certain specific actions involved
in the sport to train without danger of relapse. This transition becomes essential
because, despite the fact that the athlete has recovered from a medical point of view,
preparation for competition requires the restoration of the physical qualities mentioned
above (Kraemer et al., 2009). This sport-specific training may be beyond the qualifications
or knowledge of those who cover his medical needs (Walsh et al., 1999). Due to the
aforementioned, the need arises within sports clubs for a figure termed a training
physician (Walsh et al., 1999) within the body of support for the athlete. This professional
is currently called a sport readaptator and will facilitate the transition between
the disappearance of pain after an injury and recovery until the athlete returns to
regular competitive activity (Jiménez-Rubio et al., 2019).
Considering that almost all of the professionals involved in injury rehabilitation
processes are limited in their abilities to drive an athlete from acute injury to
recovery (Pabian et al., 2011) and that each professional staff member generally thinks
they have the best capacity to make decisions in this injury process (Shrier et al.,
2014), it is necessary to clarify each professional's role. Additionally, due to the
incorporation of a new professional figure who is necessary for adequate recovery
from injuries, the objective of this document is to clarify, based on scientific evidence,
the role of professionals involved in the sporting process after an injury, specifically
analyzing the new figure of the sports readaptator and, based on this, to propose
a workflow for this type of intervention for the best and fastest recovery of the
athlete. The above is fundamental to avoid interference between the functions of professionals,
always protecting the constant coordination between the health providers of the athlete.
The Injury Recovery Process: Who and When?
The coordination between professionals during the recovery process from a sports injury
is essential. For this reason, efforts have been made previously to define the functions
of each professional involved in this process as well as the different phases in which
they come into play (Kraemer et al., 2009; Paredes and Martínez-De Haro, 2009; O'Brien
et al., 2019). Knowing that there are gray areas regarding the competences and roles
of each professional in different arenas, a review of the literature was carried out
in order to deal with the definition of certain areas such as sports medicine, physiotherapy,
sports science, training, nutrition, psychology, and readaptation. A description of
the role and functions of each professional is needed to clarify the contribution
of each one during a sports injury, understanding that the process must be a complement
to the implementation and practice of each discipline's knowledge. Figure 1 presents
a proposed flow for an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to sports
injury recovery.
Figure 1
Flow of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to sport injury recovery.
Sports Physicians
Also called sport medical doctors or sports medicine physicians, these professionals
are in charge of medical treatment, drug administration, and doping control and prevention
(Hoberman, 2002; Dikic et al., 2013). All surgical interventions are in their management
area, as are imagological diagnosis and biochemical tests. Their role in sport injury
is to give the initial diagnosis and medical treatment and, if surgical intervention
is necessary, make a major contribution to the medical clearance decisions (Kraemer
et al., 2009).
Physiotherapists
Also called sport therapists, their role in sport injury recovery is to use certain
methods and tools in order to reestablish asymptomatic functional movement in basic
patterns. These professionals aim to restore motion, neuromuscular control, balance,
and reflex control and to facilitate pain management, limit swelling, and protect
injured structures (Kraemer et al., 2009; Arvinen-Barrow et al., 2014).
Sport Scientists
Also known as athletics trainers, performance staff, conditioning, and strength trainers,
their function is to restore strength, endurance, most basic physical performance
functions, and specific sport locomotion and actions and to reestablish competitive
performance functions (Patel and Baker, 2006; Järvinen et al., 2007; Kraemer et al.,
2009). After medical clearance, their work will focus on programming and prescribing
individualized sport-specific load and gradually integrating the athlete into regular
training demands. Once sport clearance is achieved, this professional should prepare
athletes for the demands of high-level competition and help them avoid re-injury.
The recovery from fatigue between efforts is also an area of action for these professionals.
Coaches
The main objective of the coach is to enable their athletes to obtain the highest
performance possible (Ojala and Thorpe, 2015). They play fundamental roles during
training and competition, such as in motivation, education, organization, planning,
and mentoring (Short and Short, 2005). They have to be able to analyze scientific
data and translate it into practice in their coaching and training programs. The aim
of coaches during injury recovery is to track the development of the condition and
to reinsert the player into technical and tactical team training and competition.
Nutritionists
As a primarily objective, they are in charge of providing proper nutrition during
training, competition, and recovery according to the particular energy demands of
different activities. Currently, they are essential in the control of ergogenic aids
to achieve recovery between loads or injury. The above includes advising athletes
about their diet, nutritional supplements, and fluid intake (Maughan and Shirreffs,
2012).
Psychologists
Sport psychologists analyze mental and motivational factors that could limit sporting
performance. In a recovery program, psychological factors are essential, and fear
and apprehension are common issues during the injury process (Walker et al., 2007).
Psychologists should be active in the recovery process, addressing situations during
the rehabilitation program such as insecurity when performing exercises that could
remind the athlete of the injury mechanisms, when an opponent approaches at high speed,
or when any other hazardous conditions are perceived (Erickson and Sherry, 2017).
Physical and Sport Readaptators
This new professional must lead the reconditioning phase (Dhillon et al., 2017), understood
as the transition that takes place once the rehabilitation of the injury is almost
complete and when the athlete is ready to begin strength and conditioning activities.
Their main objective is to readapt the injured structure to support physical demands
through sport-specific exercise prescription and the recovery of sport-specific locomotion.
Additionally, physical readaptadors should support the maintenance of specific physical,
technical, and tactical aptitudes during the rehabilitation process.
Despite the fact that there are clearly defined competencies for each professional
involved in the recovery from injuries in sport, based on fundamental principles (Piggott
et al., 2019), it is essential to acknowledge that interdisciplinary approaches are
needed to achieve an effective and efficient recovery. The involvement of diverse
disciplines toward a common goal provides a better understanding of the complex phenomenon
of injury and could lead to a better overview of the challenges of the recovery process,
as well as a better comprehension of the factors that could influence the return-to-play
process. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that the diagnosis, prognosis,
intervention plan, sport clearance to final return-to-play decisions, and re-injury
prevention must be taken as a consensual determination among all professionals as
an intervention group, each of them assuming their role and contributing their knowledge
for the sole purpose of preserving the health of the athlete.
With regard to physical rehabilitation, due to the lack of or little need to create
a new professional figure, there is legislation in some countries that gives this
function to professionals in sport science and human movement science. In these cases,
sport science professionals are assigned the function of physical and sport readaptator
by law due to their knowledge regarding the recovery of the physical condition of
injured athletes (Campos-Izquierdo and Lalín-Novoa, 2012). Additionally, new legislation
is complementing professional degrees in sport science with knowledge, procedures,
and specific attitudes to physically adapt, recover, or re-educate through physical
exercise (Campos-Izquierdo et al., 2010; Campos-Izquierdo and Lalín-Novoa, 2012).
Conclusion
Athletes' trust in professionals and self-determination and the compromise and communication
of all the health providers to the athlete in the process of recovering from an injury
is essential to recover the physical and psychological form necessary for return-to-play
and receiving the sport and medical all-clear (Kraemer et al., 2009; Podlog et al.,
2011). Considering the abilities necessary for the achievement of this objective,
such as knowledge of the fundamental components of the prescription of exercise (Kraemer
et al., 2002), it has been found that a professional in sports sciences and human
movement is the suitable person to execute this essential function within the interdisciplinary
team overseeing the recovery of the athlete once the injury is asymptomatic and until
they recover their sport-specific strength and conditioning capabilities, leaving
those factors related to competition to the respective professionals (Shrier et al.,
2014). It is essential to recognize the importance of coordinating with the knowledge
bases of other professionals in the area, such as sport medicine doctors, physiotherapists,
sport scientist, nutritionists, and psychologists, and to create interdisciplinary
injury interventions. This comprehensive approach to the recovery process is the path
to success in this type of intervention (Kautz et al., 2007).
Author Contributions
DR-V conceived and designed the idea for the article and prepared the initial draft.
DR-V, JG-V, and BS-U gave substantial revisions, provided critical feedback and helped
shape the manuscript and verified the rationale of the paper. BS-U supervised the
writing of the manuscript. All authors gave their final approval of the content for
publication.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial
or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.