gms | German Medical Science

Objectives: Running is one of the most popular physical activities worldwide. Besides its obvious benefits, it is associated with injuries (running related injuries or RRI). It remains unclear which key factors act predisposing or protective of RRI. It is very likely that the aetiology of RRI is complex and rather multifactorial.

The goal of this study was firstly to describe the epidemiology of RRI and secondly to examine a broad range of potential risk as well as protective factors for RRI.

Methods: Anthropometric, runner's profile, and training data of patients, consulting a doctor of orthopaedics due to RRI, were collected. Furthermore, diagnosis, malpositions, and other predisposing factors were assessed clinically. Characteristics and present predispositions were statistically compared between subpopulations of every specific RRI and also between each and every group of anatomically pooled RRI using the Mann Whitney U test.

Results and conclusion: Hundred-eighty-one (102 female, 79 male) runners were included in data collection. Mean age was 33.4 years and the mean running distance 25.2 km per week (see Table 1 [Tab. 1] for further descriptive analysis of the study population).

The most frequent diagnosed RRIs were patellofemoral pain syndrome (n=24), patellar tendinitis and iliotibial band friction syndrome (both n=22), followed by spinal injuries (region: lower back) (n=20), chronic ankle instability (n=15), and tendinosis of the tibialis posterior tendon (n=10). The most commonly diagnosed malalignments were varus knee in 149, pelvic obliquity (with relative or absolute leg length discrepancy) in 144, patellar medialization in 94, pes cavus in 65, pes planus in 63, and pes valgus in 54 patients (see Figure 1 [Fig. 1]).

Outlined preliminary data analysis shows that patients suffering from spine injuries had a significantly higher BMI (mean 24.35 ± 2.74) than the patients not diagnosed with this RRI (mean 22.60 ± 2.57). Additionally, 75.0% of patients with spinal injuries were diagnosed with scoliosis, compared to only 25.5% in the rest of the study population, suggesting scoliosis as a potential risk factor for this RRI (OR: 8.493, p<0.05). In contrast, a regular warm-up routine can be seen as a protective factor (OR: 0.372, p<0.05).

In the group of patients affected by RRI of the knee, varus knee alignment is a risk factor according to our data (OR: 4.397, p<0.05).

Furthermore, present data shows that patients with RRI in the hip were diagnosed with scoliosis significantly more often (58%) than the rest of our study population (28.8%). However, a regular stretching routine after running sessions seem to have a protective effect (OR: 0.26, p<0.05) in this respect.