Running is one of the most common activities that cause overuse injuries1.
- 50% of runners experience an injury each year that prevents them from running for some time
- 25% of runners are injured at any given time
- 70%-80% of running disorders are due to overuse injuries, mainly involving the knee, ankle joint, forefoot and shin.
Running-related musculoskeletal injuries were the focus of a recent large study1 that aimed to systematically review the literature and determine the frequency and prevalence ratio of injuries by anatomical site and localized pathology.
The results confirmed that more than 70% of all musculoskeletal injuries in running were related to overuse.
The injuries reported in the study were mostly at or below the knee. In particular, the knee and ankle areas had the highest incidence of injuries. This may be because during body propulsion there is an increased biomechanical load on these structures.
“Do ultra-distance runners risk the same injuries?”
In the general population of runners, the highest rate of injury in both incidence and prevalence was to the knee, while among ultramarathoners the most injured site was the ankle.
In general, the statistics did not show a significant difference in injury incidence ratios by anatomical site between ultramarathoners and non-ultramarathoners.
Overall, the identified pathologies with the highest rate of injury were tendinopathy of the tibial anterior compartment (shin splints) (19.4%), patellofemoral pain syndrome (runner’s knee) (15.8%) and Achilles tendinopathy (13.7%). These are the percentages that most often appear in ultramarathon athletes.
For non-ultramarathon runners, ankle sprains were in the top 5 injury frequency ratios, while Achilles tendinopathy and anterior-medial tibial compartment syndrome had the highest incidence rates. Patellofemoral pain syndrome had the highest prevalence of injuries, while plantar fasciitis (inflammation of the plantar fascia) and iliotibial band syndrome, characterized by pain focused on the outside of the knee during exercise, were not missing from the sample. Stress fractures were placed among the major injuries, while finally, in runners, muscle strains usually affect 1.hamstrings 2.quadriceps 3. gastrocnemius 4.groin.
Therefore, emphasis is placed on active prevention and early and targeted rehabilitation, the key elements in reducing injuries and their complications.
Coaches and health professionals should focus injury prevention programs on treating pathological conditions such as patellofemoral pain syndrome and Achilles tendinopathy in order to reduce the high incidence of overuse injuries.
The development of effective rehabilitation programs can act in time to reduce the possibility of prevalence / worsening of the runner’s pathologies.
- Kakouris N, Yener N, Fong DTP. A systematic review of running-related musculoskeletal injuries in runners. J Sport Health Sci. 2021 Sep;10(5):513-522. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2021.04.001. Epub 2021 Apr 20. PMID: 33862272; PMCID: PMC8500811.
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