Association of running training volume control, resistance exercise practice and lower limb physical performance with injury history in amateur street runners

Abstract

Introduction: Street running is the fifth most practiced amateur sport in Brazil, despite the risk of musculoskeletal injuries, especially in the lower limbs. Running-related injury is highly prevalent among street runners, being a key barrier to their practice.
Objective: To verify the association of running training volume, weight-bearing resistance exercise practice, and lower limb performance with lower limb injury history in amateur street runners. Methods: A cross-sectional analytic study was conducted
on 167 amateur street runners, selected by convenience. The participants answered a questionnaire to characterize the social and sports profile related to previous injuries, running training volume and practice of weight training exercises, in addition to the
performance of the lower limb functional performance test Y Balance test. The association analysis of the variables was investigated by the chi-square test and the odds ratio (Odds ratio, OR) with 95% confidence interval. Results: The mean age was 31.8 years (±6.5) and female gender predominated (n=91, 54.59%). Thirty-six (21.56%) participants reported injuries in the past year. The main body region cited was the knee, (n=18, 54.55%). The only statistically significant measure associated with injury history was lower limb dynamic balance asymmetry when we used the cut point of 94% (OR=2.06; p=0.021). On the other hand, in the association of training
volume, performance of resistance training exercises, training frequency and asymmetry of dynamic balance of lower limbs with the history of injuries, the results were not statistically significant. Conclusion: From the results obtained, it is possible to conclude that the history of injuries is associated with the asymmetry of the dynamic balance of the lower limbs in the left lower limb when using the cut-off point 94%. And there was no association of time control, training time and performance of resistance weight training exercises with the history of injuries. It was found that street runners suffer from psychosocial issues, and the most cited was emotional stress.