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Besomi M.1, Leppe J.1, Mauri-Stecca M.V.1, Sizer P.S.2
1Universidad del Desarrollo, School of Physical Therapy, Santiago, Chile, 2Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Center for Rehabilitation Research, School of Health Professions, Lubbock, United States
Background: Physical activity can be severely limited by the presence of musculoskeletal injuries. Etiologies and risk factors associated with running-related injury have been extensively studied, however there is no consensus on prevention programs. Prevention strategies should include runner's beliefs about their musculoskeletal health and the role that physical therapy has on managing running injuries.
Purpose: A model focused on the user's needs could contribute to enhance the management of running-related injuries. The aim of this study was to identify beliefs and perceptions about musculoskeletal health and the perception of physical therapy utility as key factors in the recovery and management of running-related injuries in urban runners from Santiago de Chile.
Methods: An email and web-based online cross-sectional survey was performed. Runners from six different competitions and other running circuits were recruited through flyer invitations, emails and social media networks. The survey was made available during a 2-month period and collected information on:
(1) socio-demographics;
(2) injury history within the previous 12 months;
(3) previous injury management;
(4) risk factor beliefs;
(5) running injury prevention beliefs;
(6) perception of physical therapy utility for their treatment success; and
(7) overall running experience and training factors.
Statistical analyses of all data were performed with STATA 13.0.
Results: A total of 821 runners (46% female), with a mean age of 36.6 ± 10 years and a Body Mass Index of 23.6 ± 2.8 kg/m2 were analyzed. Of those, 41% reported a running-related injury over the previous 12 months and the most common sites were foot/ankle (35.7%), knee (31.7%) and lower leg (15%). From those subjects reporting a previous injury, 48% underwent physical therapy management, 24% sought medical care, 23% suspended their training, and 5% maintained their current routine. Physical therapy treatment was completed by 82.6% (n=142) of subjects. From all runners seeking physical therapy management, 54.2% reported very useful results (mean = 6.1 ± 1.2 on a 1-7 scale). Main beliefs on risk factors were lack of experience (22.7%), overload training (16.4%) and overweight (12.4%). Main beliefs on running injury prevention were adding physical training exercises to training practice (20.7%), stretching (19.6%) and avoiding training overload (18.9%). No significant differences were found on belief factors between men and women (p>0.05).
Conclusion(s): There was a high prevalence of reported running-related injuries over the previous 12 months, where more than half underwent physical therapy and characterized it as very useful for treatment. Runners beliefs and perceptions regarding injury risk and prevention factors centered on lack of experience, overload training and adding physical training exercises to training practice, which are similar to those found in the current literature. Conversely, their high value for stretching and weight control reported in this study is not supported by the literature.
Implications: Runners beliefs and perceptions could affect their musculoskeletal health and rehabilitation process. It is important that physiotherapists value, along with history of previous injuries, education on injury risk factors and specific management strategies for the prevention of running injuries.
Funding acknowledgements: Internal Funding of Universidad del Desarrollo
Topic: Sport & sports injuries
Ethics approval: This study was approved by the Scientific Ethics Committee of the Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
