Research
Mixed
Rapid increases in training load (load intensification) and periods of accumulated high training load significantly increase the risk of injury and illness in athletes.
Monitor your training load closely. Avoid sudden spikes in intensity or volume. If you must increase load, do so gradually. Pay attention to fatigue markers; if you feel unusually fatigued, reduce the load to prevent injury.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Athletes are at an increased risk of injury/illness at key stages in their training and competition, including periods of training load intensification and periods of accumulated training loads.
Why this rating
Based on 68 longitudinal studies, mostly prospective cohorts, with consistent findings across multiple sports.
Source
Training Load and Fatigue Marker Associations with Injury and Illness: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies
Christopher M. Jones et al. · Sports Medicine · 2016
DOI 10.1007/s40279-016-0619-5
systematic_reviewCited 380×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Rapid increases in training load can cause immunosuppression, increasing illness risk if the athlete does not return to baseline within 7-21 days.Good
- Individual characteristics such as fitness, body composition, injury history, and age significantly impact internal training loads and susceptibility to injury/illness.Good
Related findings · Mixed
- Bariatric surgery (VSG and RYGB) is the most effective and sustainable treatment for obesity, producing marked and sustained weight loss that non-surgical interventions cannot match.Strong
- Severely protein-deficient diets (2–3% energy) induce lean body mass loss and metabolic imbalance, whereas adequate protein intake (0.66 g/kg/d minimum) is a prerequisite for maintaining muscle, bone, and physiological function.Strong
- For patients with Class III obesity (BMI >39.9 kg/m2), metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) is significantly more effective than any currently approved medication, with BilioPancreatic Diversion (BPD) showing the highest estimated weight loss.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →