Injury risk in trail running is associated with extrinsic and intrinsic factors

1. This study found intrinsic factors that were significantly associated with injury included: more running experience, being classified as a level A runner, and a higher score on the “sports accident questionnaire (PAD-22).

2. Extrinsic factors significantly associated with injury included: neglecting warm up, no specialized running plan, training on asphalt, double training sessions per day, and physical labor occupations.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

While running is well known to improve overall health, trail running is a subcategory that may present with higher injury risk due to the nature of the terrain and training. The severity of some of these injuries highlights the need to identify risk factors of injury before training and race participation to ensure that participants reap the health benefits of running. As a result, the objective of the present living systematic review was to provide an up-to-date summary on factors associated with injury in trail running.

Of 2755 identified studies, 19 were included (n=2785 participants) from 2011-2021. All studies that met the criteria of trail running as defined by the International Trail Running Association and which investigated injury risk factors were included. A modified Downs and Black assessment tool was used to assess the quality of each included study. The level of evidence was determined using the Oxford Centre of Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM) model.

After data analysis, researchers found that the intrinsic factors significantly associated with injury included: more running experience, level A runner and a higher score on the “sports accident questionnaire (PAD-22). In addition, extrinsic factors significantly associated with injury included: neglecting warm up, no specialized running plan, training on asphalt, double training sessions per day, and physical labor occupations. However, this study was limited by the relatively low mean quality score attributed to the lack of sample size calculations. Nonetheless, the study’s living systematic review design helps inform up to date evidence-based medical practice on modifying risk factors pertinent to trail running.

Click to read the study in British Journal of Sports Medicine

Image: PD

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