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Gastrocnemius injury during running: a case report
1Department of Kinesiology, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States. venikong@yahoo.com
International Journal of Sports Medicine
|February 10, 2009
Summary
High running injury rates are common, but injury causes are unclear. This study found that faster running speeds and altered muscle actions during touchdown may cause acute running injuries like medial gastrocnemius strains.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Sports Medicine
- Injury Epidemiology
Background:
- Running-related injuries have a high incidence rate.
- Understanding the specific forces and mechanisms leading to acute running injuries remains a challenge.
Observation:
- A case report documented a medial gastrocnemius muscle strain during a laboratory running data collection.
- The injured running instance was compared to five preceding non-injured trials using kinetic and kinematic data.
Findings:
- The injured trial exhibited faster running speed, a higher external loading rate, and increased muscle-tendon complex length and shortening rate.
- Injury occurred in the early stance phase, shortly after touchdown, linked to faster-than-usual speed and potentially poor touchdown posture.
- Ground reaction forces, joint angles, moments, and powers showed indifferent patterns between injured and non-injured trials.
Implications:
- Unique data provide insights into internal and external loads during acute traumatic running injuries.
- Findings suggest that altered muscle function due to running speed and posture at touchdown may precipitate muscle strains.
- Further research can refine injury prevention strategies for runners.
