Perspectives from research and practice: A survey on external load monitoring and bone in sport

INTRODUCTION: There is limited information regarding the association between external load and estimated bone load in sport, which may be important due to the influence exercise can have on bone accrual and injury risk. The aim of this study was to identify external load measuring tools used by support staff to estimate bone load and assess if these methodologies were supported in research. METHODS: A survey was comprised of 19 multiple choice questions and the option to elaborate on if/how they monitor external load and if/how they used them to estimate bone load. A narrative review was performed to assess how external load is associated to bone in research. RESULTS: Participants were required to be working as support staff in applied sport. Support staff (n = 71) were recruited worldwide with the majority (85%) working with professional elite athletes. 92% of support staff monitored external load in their organisation, but only 28% used it to estimate bone load. DISCUSSION: GPS is the most commonly used method to estimate bone load, but there is a lack of research assessing GPS metrics with bone load. Accelerometry and force plates were among the most prevalent methods used to assess external load, but a lack of bone specific measurements were reported by support staff. Further research exploring how external load relates to bone is needed as there is no consensus on which method of external load is best to estimate bone load in an applied setting.