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Matthew Boyd / November 24, 2019

TRAILS study review

Study

  • 300 runners
  • Took a bunch of measurements
  • Followed them for 2 years
  • Looked for links between any of the measurements and injuries

Findings 

  • 199 of the 300 runners got injured
  • There was no massive differences between the uninjured and the injured runners except for 3 things…
    • Women had higher injury rates
    • Knee stiffness on landing increased injury risk (internal force, not the angle – so this can’t be observed on a video)
    • Scoring low on mental health questionnaires relating to psychological well-being increased injury risk
  • None of the following increased injury risk:
    • Flexibility at the ankle or knee
    • BMI
    • Arch Height
    • Q angle
    • Rearfoot motion
    • Strength
    • Weekly mileage
    • Running experience
    • Running pace
    • Shoes
    • Previous injury
    • Impact

Weaknesses

  • Relied on the runners to report their injuries (injuries were not diagnosed by clinicians)
  • Relied on questionnaires to quantify training habits (rather than something more accurate like GPS tracking)
  • “Knee stiffness” can’t be measured in the clinic (it’s the force that matters, not the angle)

For Clinicians

  • Most of the things we look at to “screen” for injury risk like biomechanics, strength and training habits were not found to be linked to injury
  • Predicting which runners will get injured vs which wont seems to be impossible
  • Psychological well-being may be related to injury risk

For Runners

  • Running injuries are super common. Two thirds of these runners were injured during the 2 year study
  • It may be more important to catch them early and rehabilitate them quickly as it may not be possible to predict or prevent running injuries
  • Don’t stress too much about things like flexibility, technique or shoe selection if you are not currently injured

A 2-Year Prospective Cohort Study of Overuse Running Injuries: The Runners and Injury Longitudinal Study (TRAILS)

Filed Under: Article Tagged With: Infographic, Running Injury, Running Injury Prevention, Running Research, Running Technique, Technique

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Disclaimer

I am a Registered Physiotherapist within the province of Alberta, Canada only.

Any online consultations with individuals located outside of Alberta will be in my capacity as a Certified Running Coach. I do not provide Physiotherapy or injury rehabilitation services to anyone located outside of Alberta, Canada.

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