A framework for the etiology of running-related injuries.
The etiology of running-related injury is important to consider as the effectiveness of a given running-related injury prevention intervention is dependent on whether etiologic factors are readily modifiable and consistent with a biologically plausible causal mechanism. Therefore, the purpose of the present article was to present an evidence-informed conceptual framework outlining the multifactorial nature of running-related injury etiology. In the framework, four mutually exclusive parts are presented: (a) Structure-specific capacity when entering a running session; (b) structure-specific cumulative load per running session; (c) reduction in the structure-specific capacity during a running session; and (d) exceeding the structure-specific capacity. The framework can then be used to inform the design of future running-related injury prevention studies, including the formation of research questions and hypotheses, as well as the monitoring of participation-related and non-participation-related exposures. In addition, future research applications should focus on addressing how changes in one or more exposures influence the risk of running-related injury. This necessitates the investigation of how different factors affect the structure-specific load and/or the load capacity, and the dose-response relationship between running participation and injury risk. Ultimately, this direction allows researchers to move beyond traditional risk factor identification to produce research findings that are not only reliably reported in terms of the observed cause-effect association, but also translatable in practice.
Section for Sports Science, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
M L
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4001-4581
ML
Bertelsen
Australian Collaboration for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Vic., Australia.
A
A
Hulme
Section for Sports Science, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
J
J
Petersen
Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, SMI®, Aalborg, Denmark.
R K
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7246-4811
RK
Brund
Section for Sports Science, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
H
H
Sørensen
Australian Collaboration for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Vic., Australia.
C F
CF
Finch
Section of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
E T
ET
Parner
Section for Sports Science, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
R O
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5757-1806
RO
Nielsen
D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000209:etiology*; D012090:Cumulative Trauma Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D012420:Running / Q000293:injuries*; D016474:Weight-Bearing
biomechanics; injury prevention; sports injury