Running blog: part 1: Injury incidence:

Running is becoming more popular as a form of exercise in the general population. This is likely to be due to the fact that it is cheap and accessible. However issues can arise when people who have never run or haven’t run in a while, just put on some trainers and go out and run.  This blog series will examine the research on running related injury, injury prevention (Strength, core stability, trainer selection, running technique etc.), what to do when you are injured and how to get back to running post injury.

This part is an introduction to the series and will detail the injuries and the incidence of these injuries. Whereas the next part will educate you on what you can do to prevent them amongst other things.

So how do we get injured?

Injury and musculoskeletal pain syndromes are seldom caused by isolated events, but are the consequences of habitual imbalances in the movement system (think cumulative build up).

This point is particularly key in running as it is a repetitive activity often with a large volume. So it is important to make sure you are doing everything possible correctly otherwise injuries can build up.

Some people say running gives you arthritis but what does the evidence say?

Running significantly reduced Osteoarthritis (OA) and hip replacement risk due to, in part, running’s association with lower Body mass index (BMI), whereas other exercise increased OA and hip replacement risk (Williams 2013).

Overuse of a joint does not appear to cause Osteoarthritis, abnormal use however, does, implying that if you run correctly with optimum conditions internally and externally then it doesn't cause arthritis.

So what is the incidence of some of the most common running injuries?

The incidence of lower-extremity running injuries in long distance runners ranged from 19.4% to 79.3% in various pieces of research (Van Gent et al 2007).

Out of 725 recreational male marathon runners, 54.8% sustained one or more running injuries in the year prior to a marathon (Van Middelkoop et al 2008).

Certain injuries occur from running fast and others due to the amount of running. Below is some evidence that suggests which injuries are more likely to occur from each one:

Running Volume related injuries:

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (kneecap pain), Iliotibial band syndrome (pain on the outside of the knee), Patella tendinopathy (tendon injury below the kneecap) (Nielsen et al 2013).

Running Pace related injuries:

Achilles tendinopathy, Gastrocnemius injuries (calf muscle injury), Plantar fasciitis (pain under the heel and sole of the foot) (Nielsen et al 2013).

Achilles tendinopathy:

The incidence ranges from 9.1% to 10.9% in runners (Lopes AD et al, 2012).

Rupture of the Achilles tendon is common and said to be increasing (Khan & Carey Smith 2010).

Achilles rupture typically occurs in males in their 30's and 40's who play sport intermittently (Khan & Carey Smith 2010).

Interesting Achilles fact:

Individuals with an A2 allele of the COL5A1 BstUI RFLP gene are less likely of developing chronic Achilles tendinopathy (Mokone et al 2006).

So it’s genetic?

Medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints):

The incidence ranges from 13.6% to 20.0% (Lopes AD et al, 2012).

Tibial stress fracture risk factors are a high longitudinal arch, leg length discrepancy, excessive forefoot varus & high mileage (Korpelainen et al 2001).

Plantar fasciitis:

The incidence ranges from 4.5% to 10.0% (Lopes AD et al, 2012).

Plantar fasciitis accounts for 10% of runner related injuries (Singh et al 2008).

Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS):

The incidence estimated to be between 5% & 14% (van der Worp et al, 2012).

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (knee cap pain):

This accounts for 19% of running injuries (Taunton et al 2002).

So all this highlights that running can cause injury but it doesn't have to be this way. If you implement some of the preventative management that will be coming up in the next parts of the series then you can minimise you injury risk and therefore achieve your goals.

So keep posted over the coming weeks.

If you need any further information or would like to book an appointment then call Hawkes Physiotherapy on 01782 771861 or 07866195914

WWW.HAWKESPHYSIOTHERAPY.CO.UK