George, EstherSheerin, KellyReid, Duncan2025-05-132025-05-132024-07-25New Zealand Journal of Sports Medicine, ISSN: 0110-6384 (Print); 1175-6063 (Online), N Zealand Federation of Sports Medicine, 50(2), 35-45.0110-63841175-6063http://hdl.handle.net/10292/19191Aim: This study aimed to explore different perspectives and practices of experienced sports medicine clinicians in New Zealand regarding how to return female athletes to running following low-risk tibial BSIs, as well as what they considered critical components of management. Study design: Qualitative, semi-structured interviews. Setting: New Zealand Participants: Ten experienced sports medicine clinicians, Interventions: Semi-structured interviews were completed with ten experienced sports medicine clinicians virtually via Microsoft Teams. Outcome Measures: The development of a framework of treatment for female athletes following a tibial BSI via semi-structured interviews with experienced clinicians. The perspectives and practices of experienced sports medicine clinicians were established using reflective thematic analysis. Results: Three key themes were revealed. The first theme ‘Health and Wellness’ reflects the importance clinicians placed on first optimising a female athlete’s health, with nutritional status, and psychological and hormonal health particularly important in the female athlete. The second theme ‘Bone Healing’ reflects the components required to ensure and promote bone healing. Clinicians discussed using clinical, as opposed to radiological, signs to indicate bone healing, ensuring symptom resolution, and ensuring optimal load management. The third theme ‘Functional Return’ describes clinicians’ approach to progressively returning athletes to running. Progression of running load is recommended to be gradual and guided by physical assessment findings. A notable thread highlighted throughout was the importance of establishing a multi-disciplinary management approach, reflecting the many multifaceted nature of BSIs in female athletes. Conclusion: This study highlights the need to move away from a ‘one size fits all approach’ and individualise the return to running process in female athletes following a tibial BSI.NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in (see Citation). The original publication is available at (see Publisher's Version)1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences3202 Clinical sciences4207 Sports science and exerciseJournal ArticleOpenAccess