Incidence, Prevalence, and Risk Factors of Running-Related Injuries: An Epidemiologic Review

Main Injuries

Studies have been conducted to identify the most common injuries among runners. Unfortunately, most articles do not describe RRIs appropriately, opting only to report the anatomical location of RRIs, such as “knee injury” or “ankle injury.” However, in 2012, the first systematic review of articles that fully reported the type of injury, anatomical region, and incidence or prevalence rates of RRIs was published. Eight studies were considered eligible for the review, and a total of 28 RRIs were found. The main RRIs were medial tibial stress syndrome (incidence ranging from 13.6% to 20.0%; prevalence of 9.5%), Achilles tendinopathy (incidence ranging from 9.1% to 10.9%; prevalence ranging from 6.2% to 9.5%), and plantar fasciitis (incidence ranging from 4.5% to 10.0%; prevalence ranging from 5.2% to 17.5%). Despite some studies reporting that patellofemoral syndrome is the most common RRI, this systematic review revealed a different picture. Patellofemoral syndrome did not present with the highest incidence or prevalence rate of general RRIs. The authors of this study mentioned that the term “runner's knee” has been used synonymously with patellofemoral syndrome. They also suggested that the term “runner's knee” should be avoided when describing injury around the knee area.

Most of the injuries observed in this study are related to overuse, in other words, overloading the musculoskeletal structures of the runners. The RRIs were predominantly below the knee. Table 1.1 shows the main injuries identified in the study.