TY - JOUR PY - 2022// TI - Foot strike patterns and running-related injuries among high school runners: a retrospective study JO - Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness A1 - Goto, Haruhiko A1 - Torii, Suguru SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - BACKGROUND: There is a possible relationship between foot strike patterns and running-related injuries; however, this relationship among high school runners remains uninvestigated. Therefore, this retrospective cohort study examined this relationship among high school runners.

METHODS: Overall, 123 male Japanese high school runners participated in this study and completed a questionnaire regarding their characteristics, running habits, and running-related injury (RRI) histories. We filmed their habitual high-intensity training sessions from a lateral side. Participants' foot strike patterns were visually classified, and they were divided into the non-rearfoot strike (forefoot strike and midfoot strike) and rearfoot strike groups. An independent sample t-test or Welch's t-test was used to compare participant characteristics, running habits, the number of running-related injuries in the past 1 year, and the running speed at the filmed training sessions between both groups. A Chi-square test was used to examine the relationship between running-related injury histories and foot strike patterns in both groups.

RESULTS: The number of running-related injuries in the past 1 year was not significantly different between both groups; however, RRI incidence was significantly associated wit non-rearfoot strike (p<0.05). Furthermore, non-rearfoot strike was significantly associated with a history of achillodynia (p<0.05). Other running-related injuries, such as medial tibial pain, lateral knee pain, and heel pain, were not significantly associated with foot strike patterns.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that rearfoot strike runners did not have a higher risk of running-related injury compared to that of non-rearfoot strike runners, and that non-rearfoot strike was associated with achillodynia.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0022-4707 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.22.13445-6 ID - ref1 ER -