New Opportunities in Assessing Return to Performance in the Elite Athlete: Unifying Sports Medicine, Data Analytics, and Sports Science

Sports medicine literature has historically reported return to sport rates, but recent interest has shifted to return to previous performance. However, the measurement and understanding of performance in the elite athlete population has continued to evolve. Recent advancements in sport analytics, wearable technology, and player-tracking systems have improved our understanding of performance in the elite athlete. Sports medicine researchers should collaborate with sports science teams to continue investigating the validity and reliability of emerging technology, assist in interpretation of big data, and remain accountable to the goals of our athletic population. Future studies in sports medicine should consider using these detailed, granular assessments to address the demands of the elite athlete population.