JEPonline Association of Different Factors with the Prevalence of Injuries in Runners of Rio de Janeiro’s Half Marathon

Fonseca M, Palma A, Araujo C, Chaves E, de Paula R, Rodrigues Neto G, Novaes J. Association of Different Factors with the Prevalence of Injuries in Runners of Rio de Janeiro’s Half Marathon. JEPonline 2015;18(2):58-65. The aim of this study was to analyze the association of different surface types, types of hills, types of footstep, and body mass index (BMI) with the prevalence of injuries in of the Rio de Janeiro half marathon runners. One hundred and twenty-one healthy men participated in this study. The subjects were between 22 and 52 yrs of age and regularly practiced endurance training. A questionnaire was given with open and closed questions regarding the time of the run, the type of uphill and soil on which the training is performed and the type of footstep. Age, height, body mass, and BMI were also included. The results demonstrate a significant reduction in the prevalence of injury when the running was performed on the treadmill (P = 0.043). There were no significant differences for asphalt (P = 0.661), track (P = 0.288), soil (P = 0.053), and sand (P = 0.407). No significant differences were observed between the prevalence of injuries in uphill and downhill (P = 0.073) running, the prevalence of injuries vs. the types of footsteps (P = 0.148), the prevalence of injuries for different durations of running (P = 0.336), prevalence of injuries for different ages (P = 0.134), and the prevalence of injuries for different BMI values (P>0.05). There is a tendency for a decrease in the risk of injury when the subjects used a treadmill for training. However, it appears that uphill and downhill training, types of footstep, duration of running, age, and BMI are not related to the prevalence of injuries in half marathon runners.