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Running Habits and Injury Frequency Following COVID-19 Restrictions in Adolescent Long-Distance Runners
Rachel N Meyers1, Micah C Garcia2, Jeffery A Taylor-Haas1
1Division of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH,USA.
Purpose:
A decline in youth running was observed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated whether the resumption of organized running after social distancing restrictions changed running habits or injury frequency in adolescent runners.
Methods:
Adolescents (age = 16.1 [2.1] y) who participated in long-distance running activities completed an online survey in the Spring and Fall of 2020. Participants self-reported average weekly running habits and whether they sustained an injury during the Fall 2020 season. Poisson regression models and 1-way analysis of variance compared running habits while Fisher exact test compared differences in frequencies of injuries during Fall 2020 among season statuses (full, delayed, and canceled).
Results:
All runners, regardless of season status, increased weekly distance during Fall 2020. Only runners with a full Fall 2020 season ran more times per week and more high-intensity runs per week compared with their Spring 2020 running habits. There were no differences in running volume or running-related injury frequency among Fall 2020 season statuses.
Conclusions:
There were no significant differences in running-related injury (RRI) frequency among runners, regardless of season status, following the resumption of cross-country. Health care providers may need to prepare for runners to increase running volume and intensity following the resumption of organized team activities.
