Assessing the relationship between training load and injury in ultramarathon runners: a novel approach using...

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Exercise Physiology
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Ultramarathon running is associated with significant injury risks.
• Monitoring training loads is crucial for identifying potential injury risk factors.
• Injury surveillance studies are needed to understand injury prevalence and its relation to training loads.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the incidence and nature of running-related injuries in ultramarathon runners.
• To investigate the relationship between training loads and injury risk.
• To analyze injury patterns 12 weeks before and 2 weeks after the 2018 Comrades ultramarathon.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 106 participants for a 14-week retrospective study.
• Collected weekly data on running injuries and training loads (distance, duration, frequency, acute-chronic workload ratio).
• Utilized Generalised Additive Models to analyze the relationship between training load variables and injury risk.

Main Results:

• Running-related injury incidence was 8/1000 hours, with an overall injury proportion of 40%.
• Muscles (47%) and tendons (24%) were most commonly injured, particularly at the knee (26%) and hip (19%).
• Lower training load distance and heterogeneous weekly training frequency were linked to higher injury risk (p=0.02).

Conclusions:

• Lower training loads and inconsistent weekly running frequency increase ultramarathon injury risk.
• Insufficient training may not adequately prepare runners for ultradistance demands.
• Generalised Additive Models effectively model non-linear relationships between training load and injury risk, potentially improving prediction accuracy.