Factors Associated With Lower Limb Injuries in Recreational Runners: A Cross-Sectional Survey Including Mental Aspects and Sleep Quality

Abstract

Knowledge about prevalence and etiology of running-related injuries (RRIs) is important to design effective RRI prevention programs. Mental aspects and sleep quality seem to be important potential risk factors, yet their association with RRIs needs to be elucidated. The aims of this study are to investigate the epidemiology of RRIs in recreational runners and the association of mental aspects, sleep, and other potential factors with RRIs. An internet-based questionnaire was sent to recreational runners recruited through social media, asking for personal and training characteristics, mental aspects (obsessive passion, motivation to exercise), sleep quality, perceived health, quality of life, foot arch type, and RRIs over the past six months. Data were analyzed descriptively and using logistic regression. Self-reported data from 804 questionnaires were analyzed. Twenty-five potential risk factors for RRIs were investigated. 54% of runners reported at least one RRI. The knee was the most-affected location (45%), followed by the lower leg (19%). Patellofemoral pain syndrome was the most-reported injury (20%), followed by medial tibial stress syndrome (17%). Obsessive passionate attitude (odds ratio (OR):1.35; 95% confidence interval (CI):1.18-1.54), motivation to exercise (OR:1.09; CI:1.03-1.15), and sleep quality (OR:1.23; CI:1.15-1.31) were associated with RRIs, as were perceived health (OR:0.96; CI:0.94-0.97), running over 20 km/week (OR:1.58; CI:1.04-2.42), overweight (OR:2.17; CI:1.41-3.34), pes planus (OR:1.80; CI:1.12-2.88), hard-surface running (OR:1.37; CI:1.17-1.59), running company (OR:1.65; CI:1.16-2.35), and following a training program (OR:1.51; CI:1.09-2.10). These factors together explained 30% of the variance in RRIs. A separate regression analysis showed that mental aspects and sleep quality explain 15% of the variance in RRIs. The association of mental aspects and sleep quality with RRIs adds new insights into the multifactorial etiology of RRIs. We therefore recommend that besides common risk factors for RRI, mental aspects and sleep be incorporated into the advice on prevention and management of RRIs.

Anxiety state impact on recovery of runners with lower extremity injuries

“…Anxiety can interfere with rehabilitation progress in athletes [ 17 ]. Cross sectional studies in adolescent and adult runners show that running-related injury is also related to wellbeing and various QOL indicators like sleep and days without musculoskeletal pain [ 18 , 19 ]. Despite these emerging relationships, the current clinical paradigm for running injury still primarily focuses on physical treatment.…”

Lifestyle characteristics in adolescent female football players: data from the Karolinska football Injury Cohort

“…They had relatively high scores on obsessive passion (mean, 4.8). An association between greater obsessive passion (3.2 vs. 2.7) and injuries in runners has been reported [ 27 ] and may predispose athlete to overuse injuries [ 28 ]. Therefore, it could be important to analyse the players’ passion for football.…”

Lesões e sintomas em mulheres corredoras de rua

“…A corrida de rua é um dos esportes que mais tem crescido no mundo (Lopes et al, 2012;Rothschild, 2012), parte desde crescimento se deve ao aumento da participação feminina (Van der Worp et al, 2015). Além dos fatores motivacionais e aspectos sociais e psicológicos, como bem-estar, sentimento de prazer, controle do estresse e superação de limites, essa prática ocasiona efeitos benéficos sobre a massa magra e óssea, gordura corporal, níveis glicêmicos, VO2max, triglicérides e HDL, melhora o condicionamento muscular e cardiorrespiratório (Hespanhol Junior et al, 2015;Mousavi et al, 2021).…”

“…Contudo, a prática da corrida pode estar associada ao surgimento de lesões musculoesqueléticas, dor ou incapacidade que podem limitar ou levar ao afastamento de treinos e/ou competições (Lopes et al, 2012;Mousavi et al, 2021;van Mechelen, 1997). A severidade da lesão determinará o tempo de afastamento da prática da modalidade, prejudicando, em graus variados, o desempenho, a saúde e o condicionamento físico, além da participação nos treinos e competições, podendo afetar aspectos psicológicos e motivacionais (Russell & Wiese-Bjornstal, 2015;Samulski, 2009).…”