Injuries sustained during high intensity interval training: are modern fitness trends contributing to increased injury rates?

Sprint Interval Running and Continuous Running Produce Training Specific Adaptations, Despite a Similar Improvement of Aerobic Endurance Capacity—A Randomized Trial of Healthy Adults

“…The majority of participants were female, and although training groups were gender matched, we did not control for oral contraceptive use and menstrual cycle phase. Furthermore, high intensity exercise is commonly associated with increased risk of injury [38], and in the present study, we were unable to prevent the occurrence of injuries in the SIT group, despite a standardized warm-up and supervision of highly qualified personnel. Strengths of this study include the fact that heart rate was recorded at all training sessions, and that both females and males were included.…”

Systematic review of the acute and chronic effects of high-intensity interval training on executive function across the lifespan

“…It has been suggested that HIIT, typically studied using treadmill running or cycling on an ergometer (Eddolls et al, 2017), may be an attractive alternative to traditional moderateintensity continuous exercise or resistance exercise as a means of promoting various health outcomes, such as aerobic capacity (Lee, Hsu et al, 2018), lipid metabolism (Lee, Kuo et al, 2018), vascular function (O'Brien et al, 2020), and balance (Jiménez-García et al, 2019). Although HIIT may be associated with higher risk of injury (Rynecki et al, 2019), its health-related benefits can be manifested once implemented appropriately. Moreover, the time-efficient nature of HIIT has made it a desirable option in overcoming "lack of time" -one of the most cited barriers to engaging in physical activity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012).…”

Strength-Endurance Training Classes

“…Although Batterson et al 11 and earlier work 5 show that HIFT and HIIT programs have high attendance/adherence and satisfaction, there is an emerging need to better understand injury rate. As an analog, recreational running is one of the popular sports worldwide; however, the injury rate among novice runners is high (w17.8 injuries per 1000 training hours 15 ).…”

“…4 HIIT has been shown to increase adherence and participation rates in exercise training regimens compared with more traditional exercise programs and gyms, in large part due to greater enjoyment of exercise and shorter time commitment. 5 In addition to the great interest garnered, HIIT has been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness 6 and reduce cardiometabolic disease risk factors. 7 A recent umbrella systematic review showed that HIIT can improve key cardiometabolic disease risk factors including body composition, insulin sensitivity, and blood pressure among adults with normal, overweight, and obesity classifications.…”

“…10 High-profile commercial exercise brands that incorporate HIFT have popularized HIIT/HIFT and generated cult-like followings with some adherents showing a near religious commitment. 5,11,12 In the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Batterson et al 11 report the effects of HIFT on injury rates, participation rates, and exercise class satisfaction using pre-and post-class surveys with a convenience sample of 100 habitual exercising adults participating in small-group training programs at a wellness facility on Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester. Attendance during the 6-week training program was high, with 91% of participants attending four or more of the six classes.…”