2022 Bern Consensus Statement on Shoulder Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Return to Sport for Athletes at All Participation Levels

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2022;52(1):11–28. doi:10.2519/jospt.2022.10952. Ariane Schwank, PT, MSc, Paul Blazey, PT, Martin Asker, PT, PhD, Merete Møller, PT, PhD, Martin Hägglund, PT, PhD, Suzanne Gard, PT, MSc, Christopher Skazalski, PT, DPT, et al.

Synopsis: There is an absence of high-quality evidence to support rehabilitation and return-to-sport decisions following shoulder injuries in athletes. The Athlete Shoulder Consensus Group was convened to lead a consensus process that aimed to produce best-practice guidance for clinicians, athletes, and coaches for managing shoulder injuries in sport. We developed the consensus via a 2-round Delphi process (involving more than 40 content and methods experts) and an in-person meeting. This consensus statement provides guidance with respect to load and risk management, supporting athlete shoulder rehabilitation, and decision making during the return-to-sport process. This statement is designed to offer clinicians the flexibility to apply principle-based approaches to managing the return-to-sport process within a variety of sporting backgrounds. The principles and consensus of experts working across multiple sports may provide a template for developing additional sport-specific guidance in the future.