Instructors: Stephen Mutch & Dr. Alan McCall

This two-day workshop of practical sessions, discussions, and theory will cover key areas ranging from managing training loads to specific injury diagnostics and return to sport. It will ask questions of what we really understand about injury burden and prevention, raising issues about context and the shared decision-making process that facilitates optimum recovery and re-integration. Topics such as the sociology of decision-making, physical literacy, affordances and self-determination theory as they affect patients and athletes will be discussed. There will also be an examination of mechanotransduction as it relates to how we consider load management in rehab and training, and how we design programmes in light of tissue stress and risk modifiers. 

The workshop combines research with evidence-based solutions from soccer, rugby and the world of sport tackling some of the most difficult injury issues that health professionals, conditioners, sport scientists, and coaches face in elite and amateur sports. 

We will explore the enabling of psychological conditioning rather than purely describing physical competency-driven analysis. The three phases of participation, play or performance established within the Return to Sport Continuum will ultimately affect the decision-making process in deeming athletes ‘fit for sport’.