Foot strike patterns and running-related injuries among high school runners: a retrospective study

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.

Overall, 123 male Japanese high school runners participated in this study and completed a questionnaire regarding their characteristics, running habits, and running-related injury 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 χ² test was used to examine the relationship between running-related injury histories and foot strike patterns in both groups.

The number of running-related injuries in the past 1 year was not significantly different between both groups; however, running-related injury incidence was significantly associated with 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.

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.