Dataset Information

Gait asymmetry in spatiotemporal and kinetic variables does not increase running-related injury risk in lower limbs: a secondary analysis of a randomised trial including 800+ recreational runners.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To investigate asymmetry in spatiotemporal and kinetic variables in 800+ recreational runners, identify determinants of asymmetry, investigate if asymmetry is related to greater running injury risk and compare spatiotemporal and kinetic variables between the involved and uninvolved limb at baseline in runners having sustained an injury during follow-up.

Methods

836 healthy recreational runners (38.6% women) were tested on an instrumented treadmill at their preferred running speed at baseline and followed up for 6 months. From ground reaction force recordings, spatiotemporal and kinetic variables were derived for each lower limb. The Symmetry Index was computed for each variable. Correlations and multiple regression analyses were performed to identify potential determinants of asymmetry. Cox regression analyses investigated the association between asymmetry and injury risk. Analysis of variance for repeated measures was used to compare the involved and uninvolved limbs in runners who had sustained injuries during follow-up.

Results

107 participants reported at least one running-related injury. Leg length discrepancy and fat mass were the most common determinants of asymmetry, but all correlation coefficients were negligible (0.01-0.13) and explained variance was very low (multivariable-adjusted R²<0.01-0.03). Greater asymmetry for flight time and peak breaking force was associated with lower injury risk (HR (95% CI): 0.80 (0.64 to 0.99) and 0.96 (0.93 to 0.98), respectively). No between-limb differences were observed in runners having sustained an injury.

Conclusion

Gait asymmetry was not associated with higher injury risk for investigated spatiotemporal and kinetic variables.

Trial registration number

NCT03115437.

SUBMITTER: Malisoux L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10773390 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Gait asymmetry in spatiotemporal and kinetic variables does not increase running-related injury risk in lower limbs: a secondary analysis of a randomised trial including 800+ recreational runners.

Malisoux Laurent L Gette Paul P Delattre Nicolas N Urhausen Axel A Theisen Daniel D

BMJ open sport & exercise medicine 20240105 1

<h4>Objective</h4>To investigate asymmetry in spatiotemporal and kinetic variables in 800+ recreational runners, identify determinants of asymmetry, investigate if asymmetry is related to greater running injury risk and compare spatiotemporal and kinetic variables between the involved and uninvolved limb at baseline in runners having sustained an injury during follow-up.<h4>Methods</h4>836 healthy recreational runners (38.6% women) were tested on an instrumented treadmill at their preferred runn ...[more]

PMID: 38196940

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Project description:BackgroundIdentifying atypical lower limb biomechanics may help prevent the occurrence or recurrence of running-related injuries. No reference values for spatiotemporal or kinetic variables in healthy recreational runners are available in the scientific literature to support clinical management.PurposeTo (1) present speed- and sex-stratified reference values for spatiotemporal and kinetic variables in healthy adult recreational runners; (2) identify the determinants of these biomechanical variables; and (3) develop reference regression equations that can be used as a guide in a clinical context.Study designDescriptive laboratory study.MethodsThis study involved 860 healthy recreational runners (age, 19-65 years [38.5% women]) tested on an instrumented treadmill at their preferred running speed in randomly allocated, standardized running shoes with either hard or soft cushioning. Twelve common spatiotemporal and kinetic variables-including contact time, flight time, duty factor, vertical oscillation, step cadence, step length, vertical impact peak (VIP), time to VIP, vertical average loading rate, vertical stiffness, peak vertical ground-reaction force (GRF), and peak braking force-were derived from GRF recordings. Reference values for each biomechanical variable were calculated using descriptive statistics and stratified by sex and running speed category (≤7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and ≥15 km/h). Correlations and multiple regression analyses were performed to identify potential determinants independently associated with each biomechanical variable and generate reference equations.ResultsThe mean running speed was 10.5 ± 1.3 km/h and 9 ± 1.1 km/h in men and women, respectively. While all potential predictors were significantly correlated with many of the 12 biomechanical variables, only running speed showed high correlations (r > 0.7). The adjusted R2 of the multiple regression equations ranged from 0.19 to 0.88.ConclusionThis study provides reference values and equations that may guide clinicians and researchers in interpreting spatiotemporal and kinetic variables in recreational runners.Clinical relevanceThe reference values can be used as targets for clinicians working with recreational runners in cases where there is a clinical suspicion of a causal relationship between atypical biomechanics and running-related injury.

Project description:ContextThe combination of excessive increases in running pace and volume is essential to consider when investigating associations between running and running-related injury.ObjectivesTo complete a secondary analysis, using a dataset from a randomized trial, to evaluate the interactions between relative or absolute weekly changes in running volume and running pace on the occurrence of running injuries among a cohort of injury-free recreational runners in Denmark.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingRunning volume and pace were collected during a 24-week follow-up using global positioning systems data. Training data were used to calculate relative and absolute weekly changes in running volume and pace.Patients or other participantsA total of 586 recreational runners were included in the analysis. All participants were injury free at baseline.Main outcome measure(s)Running-related injury was the outcome. Injury data were collected weekly using a modified version of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre questionnaire. Risk difference (RD) was the measure of injury risk.ResultsA total of 133 runners sustained running-related injuries. A relative weekly change of progression >10% in running volume and progression in running pace (RD = 8.1%, 95% CI = -9.3%, 25.6%) and an absolute weekly change of progression >5 km in running volume and progression in running pace (RD = 5.2%, 95% CI = -12.0%, 22.5%) were not associated with a statistically significant positive interaction.ConclusionsGiven that coaches, clinicians, and athletes may agree that excessive increases in running pace and running volume are important contributors to injury development, we analyzed the interaction between them. Although we did not identify a statistically significant positive interaction on an additive scale in runners who progressed both running pace and running volume, readers should be aware that an interaction is an important analytical approach that could be applied to other datasets in future publications.

Project description:BackgroundDiscriminating the underlying cause of gait abnormalities can be challenging in a clinical setting, especially in the presence of bilateral disease. Pressure-sensitive walkways (PSWs) have been utilized to characterize the gait of dogs with various neurologic or orthopaedic conditions. The potential use of the PSW includes the discrimination of conditions that can be similar in clinical presentation, such as bilateral hindlimb lameness and hindlimb ataxia. The primary aim of this study was to describe the spatial, temporal, and kinetic gait parameters of dogs with hindlimb ataxia or bilateral hindlimb lameness and compare them to those of normal dogs. Forty-six dogs were prospectively recruited. The normal group included 20 dogs with normal neurologic and orthopaedic exams. The orthopaedic group included 15 dogs with bilateral hindlimb orthopaedic diseases with weight-bearing hindlimb lameness and normal neurologic exams. The neurologic group included 11 dogs with ambulatory paraparesis and normal orthopaedic exams. Each dog was walked across the PSW, and at least 3 valid trials were collected. The stride time, stance time, swing time, stride length, gait velocity, peak vertical force (PVF), vertical impulse (VI), and limb symmetry were recorded. The mean values of all parameters from the valid trials were calculated and used for data analysis. The outcomes were compared among all groups.ResultsCompared with the normal group, the orthopaedic group had a significantly greater percent body weight distribution (%BWD) and vertical impulse distribution (VID) in the forelimbs. When comparing the spatiotemporal parameters, the neurologic group showed an increase in forelimb stance time compared to that of the normal group. Compared with that in the normal group, the stride velocity in the forelimbs in the orthopaedic group was greater. There were no significant differences in the kinetic parameters between the neurologic group and the normal group, nor in stride time or stride length among the groups.ConclusionThe gait parameters obtained by PSW demonstrated that the orthopaedic and neurologic groups may have different compensatory mechanisms for their gait deficiencies. These parameters can potentially be used to construct a predictive model to evaluate PSW as a diagnostic tool in future studies.

Project description:Cushioning systems in running shoes are used assuming that ground impact forces relate to injury risk and that cushioning materials reduce these impact forces. In our recent trial, the more cushioned shoe version was associated with lower injury risk. However, vertical impact peak force was higher in participants with the Soft shoe version. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effect of shoe cushioning on the time, magnitude and frequency characteristics of peak forces using frequency-domain analysis by comparing the two study groups from our recent trial (Hard and Soft shoe group, respectively). The secondary objective was to investigate if force characteristics are prospectively associated with the risk of running-related injury. This is a secondary analysis of a double-blinded randomized trial on shoe cushioning with a biomechanical running analysis at baseline and a 6-month follow-up on running exposure and injury. Participants (n = 848) were tested on an instrumented treadmill at their preferred running speed in their randomly allocated shoe condition. The vertical ground reaction force signal for each stance phase was decomposed into the frequency domain using the discrete Fourier transform. Both components were recomposed into the time domain using the inverse Fourier transform. An analysis of variance was used to compare force characteristics between the two study groups. Cox regression analysis was used to investigate the association between force characteristics and injury risk. Participants using the Soft shoes displayed lower impact peak force (p < 0.001, d = 0.23), longer time to peak force (p < 0.001, d = 0.25), and lower average loading rate (p < 0.001, d = 0.18) of the high frequency signal compared to those using the Hard shoes. Participants with low average and instantaneous loading rate of the high frequency signal had lower injury risk [Sub hazard rate ratio (SHR) = 0.49 and 0.55; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.25-0.97 and 0.30-0.99, respectively], and those with early occurrence of impact peak force (high frequency signal) had greater injury risk (SHR = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.05-2.53). Our findings may explain the protective effect of the Soft shoe version previously observed. The present study also demonstrates that frequency-domain analyses may provide clinically relevant impact force characteristics. Clinical Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier: 9NCT03115437.

Dataset Information

Gait asymmetry in spatiotemporal and kinetic variables does not increase running-related injury risk in lower limbs: a secondary analysis of a randomised trial including 800+ recreational runners.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Trial registration number

Publications

Gait asymmetry in spatiotemporal and kinetic variables does not increase running-related injury risk in lower limbs: a secondary analysis of a randomised trial including 800+ recreational runners.

Similar Datasets

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