Almost half of all recreational runners injure themselves at least once per year — regardless of their age, sex, running experience or weight — a study has found.
A researcher from Sweden monitored more than 200 adult habitual runners over the course of a year — with a sports physician diagnosing an injuries that developed.
Injuries seen during the study largely affected Achilles tendons, calves and knees.
Almost half of all recreational runners injure themselves (as pictured) at least once per year — regardless of their age, sex, running experience or weight — a study has found (stock image)
‘A third of the participants were injured over the course of the study,’ said study author and sport scientist Jonatan Jungmalm of the University of Gothenburg.
But, he added, ‘if you also take account of the participants who dropped out of the study, it is reasonable to assume that almost half of all recreational runners injure themselves in a year.’
‘Few of the injuries were long-lasting. But all the injuries prevented the runners from exercising as usual.’
In his study, Mr Jungmalm recruited more than 200 runners aged 18–55 from the entrance list of the Göteborgsvarvet Half Marathon.
To participate in the study, each athlete had to have been running for at least a year, total an average of at least 9.3 miles (15 kilometres) each week and also have been free of injury for the preceding six months.
Each runner filled out a training diary for a year — noting how far they ran and whether they experienced any pain doing so.
Injuries seen during the study largely affected Achilles tendons, calves and knees
Participants who experienced sudden injuries or prolonged pain were given a check-up by a sports doctor.
The study revealed that — of those runners who were injured — half developed problems with their Achilles tendons, calves or knees.
There appeared to be no difference in terms of age, sex, weight or even running experience between those runners who got injured and those who did not.
However, Mr Jungmalm noted, ‘those who had previously been injured were more likely to be affected again.’
Prior to participating in the study, each of the runners were put through a series of physical tests, to determine their strength, mobility and running style.
‘Those who had relatively weak outer thighs faced a higher risk of injury. Those with late pronation in their running gait were also at higher risk,’ said Mr Jungmalm.
Pronation is the way that the human foot rolls inwards to distribute impact on landing. Late pronation can place strain on the Achilles tendon and overload the calf.
‘However, having a weak torso or limited muscle flexibility was of no great significance,’ the sport scientist added.
The full findings of Mr Jungmalm’s thesis — which is titled ‘Running-related injuries among recreational runners. How many, who, and why?‘ — will be defended on April 16, 2021.