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Workload Monitoring in Team Sports: A Review of Benson et al.'s Scoping Review
- GPS DataViz
- May 26
- 2 min read
In their 2020 publication in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, Lauren C. Benson, Anu M. Räisänen, Valeriya G. Volkova, Kati Pasanen, and Carolyn A. Emery conducted a comprehensive scoping review examining how wearable technology is used to monitor workload in team sports, with a particular focus on injury prevention.
The Research Landscape
This scoping review analyzed 407 studies that used wearable devices to monitor athlete workload in team sports settings. The authors identified several key patterns in the existing research:
The majority of studies (67%) focused on soccer, rugby, or Australian football
Male athletes dominated the research landscape, appearing in 81% of studies
Elite or professional athletes were the primary subjects (74% of studies)
Young adults between 20-28 years old were the most studied demographic (69%)
The review highlights the growing importance of balancing training loads to optimize performance while preventing injuries. As the authors note, injuries in sports lead to financial burden, decreased physical activity, and increased risk of various health conditions including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and osteoarthritis.
Workload Monitoring Technology
The review distinguishes between external and internal load measurements:
External load represents the physical work performed, providing objective information about exercise quantity and intensity
Internal load represents the psychophysiological response to external load
Wearable technologies used for monitoring include:
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) - particularly for distance-based metrics
Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs)
Heart rate monitors for objective internal load metrics
The authors found that distance-based metrics derived from GPS units were the most commonly used for monitoring workload and assessing injury risk.
Challenges in Workload-Injury Research
Only 36 of the 407 studies actually investigated the association between workload measured with wearable devices and injury. The review identified several limitations in the current research:
Varying definitions of injury across studies
Diverse methodological approaches
Lack of scientific basis for cutoffs of functional workload ratios
Mathematical shortcomings in calculating workload ratios
Focus on specific populations (elite male soccer players in Europe and elite male rugby/Australian football players in Oceania)
These limitations make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the relationship between workload and injury.
Real-World Applications
For coaches, athletic trainers, and sports medicine professionals, this review offers several practical takeaways:
Individualized monitoring: Since the research is limited to specific populations, practitioners should develop customized monitoring protocols for their athletes rather than applying one-size-fits-all approaches.
Balanced measurement approach: Combining both external load metrics (GPS data) and internal load metrics (heart rate, perceived exertion) provides a more complete picture of athlete workload.
Longitudinal tracking: Meaningful workload-injury relationships require consistent, long-term monitoring of athletes.
Diverse population consideration: The current research gap regarding female, youth, and recreational athletes means practitioners working with these populations should be especially cautious when applying findings from elite male studies.
Technology selection: GPS units appear to be the most widely validated tools for workload monitoring, particularly for distance-based metrics that may relate to injury risk.
As wearable technology continues to evolve, practitioners have unprecedented opportunities to monitor athlete workload. However, this review reminds us that the science of translating this data into injury prevention strategies is still developing. The most effective approach combines technological monitoring with clinical expertise and athlete feedback to create balanced training programs that optimize performance while minimizing injury risk.
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