Epidemiology of Injury and Illness Among Trail Runners: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Author contributorship: Carel T. Viljoen -Conception and design of the study, literature search, review of literature for final inclusion of relevant studies, data extraction, level of evidence rating of included studies, quality assessment of included studies, data interpretation, manuscript write-up, manuscript editing Dina C. Janse van Rensburg -Conception and design of the study, review of literature for final inclusion of relevant studies, data extraction, manuscript editing Evert Verhagen -Conception and design of the study, review of literature for final inclusion of relevant studies, data extraction, manuscript editing Willem van Mechelen -Manuscript editing Rita Tomas -Data extraction, manuscript editing Marlene Schoeman -Data extraction, manuscript editing, level of evidence rating of included studies Susan Scheepers -Literature search, manuscript editing Elzette Korkie -Quality assessment of included studies, manuscript editing Data sharing statement: No additional data are available Funding: None Conflict of interests:The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Frequency of Injury and Illness in the Final 4 Weeks before a Trail Running Competition

“…Most cases are related to common viral infections and allergic responses [9]. A recently published systematic review [6] showed that the most common trail running illnesses reported related to the gastrointestinal tract, followed by the metabolic and cardiovascular systems. These illnesses were only analyzed during competition but not during the training period leading up to the competition.…”

“…Kluitenberg et al [5] described the prevalence of injuries in different populations of runners depending on their experience and type of competition, reporting a prevalence of 16.7 to 84.9% in novices, 21.6 to 55.0% in recreational runners, 1.4 to 94.4% in cross country runners and 21.0 to 90.6% in ultra-distance runners [5]. A recently published systematic review [6] showed an overall incidence range between 1.6-4285.0 injuries per 1000 h of running. Additionally, the prevalence of injuries in trail runners has been reported between 22.2% [7] during competition and 28.2% [8] over one year with the lower limbs the most susceptible to sustain injuries.…”

“…Illnesses are also prevalent among athletes. Viljoen et al [6] showed an overall incidence range between 65.0-6676.6 illnesses per 1000 h of running and the digestive system was the most common trail running illness reported. Moreover, upper respiratory illness that interfere with training and performance during competition has been reported in up to 10% of athletes [9].…”

Epidemiology, Clinical Characteristics, and Risk Factors for Running-Related Injuries among South African Trail Runners

“…Despite the positive health benefits of running and outdoor activities, trail running presents a high risk of injury during race [ 2 , 3 ] and training participation [ 4 ]. The majority of trail running literature investigating injury is focused on outcomes related to race participation, with limited studies reporting on training-related injuries [ 5 ]. A prospective cohort study among Dutch trail runners reported an overall incidence of 10.7 running-related injuries (RRIs) per 1000 h, showing a higher incidence of overuse (8.1 per 1000 h) vs. acute (2.7 per 1000 h) RRIs [ 4 ].…”

Correction to: Epidemiology of Injury and Illness Among Trail Runners: A Systematic Review

“…

On 17 March 2021, an erratum was published online [1] in the International Journal of Sports Medicine that showed corrected values for the incidences of injury and illness presented in the Vernillo et al study [1]. The Vernillo et al study was included in our systematic review [2] and therefore the following updates should be applied:

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