Incidence of injuries and other health problems in the Auckland Citibank marathon, 1993.

Abstract

Objective-To describe the incidence of injuries and other health problems sustained during participation in a marathon. Methods-A cohort study was undertaken involving the 1993 Auckland Citibank marathon participants. Demographic data and information on injuries and other health problems sustained during, immediately after, and 7 d following the marathon were obtained from a pre-race questionnaire, the medical aid posts, and a post-race questionnaire. Results-Of the 1219 starters, 916 (75.1%) completed both questionnaires. Seventy five individuals (6.2%) sought assistance at the medical aid posts. During or immediately after the marathon, 283 systemic health problems were reported by 218 respondents (23.8%) and 2671 specific health problems were reported by 846 respondents (92.4%). In the 7 d following the marathon, 1905 specific health problems were reported by 723 respondents (79.2%). The majority of the specific health problems were blisters, stiffness, and pain, predominantly involving the lower limbs.Conclusions-Although a high proportion of participants experienced health problem during the race, very few of these problems were serious. Many of the entrants were still experiencing problems 7 d after the marathon. (BrJ Sports Med 1996;30:324-326) health problems occurring during, immediately after, and seven days following a marathon. MethodsAll individuals planning to participate in the 1993 Auckland Citibank marathon (entrants) completed a preregistration form. This form sought information on the individual's name, age, gender, previous best marathon time, and goal time for the Auckland marathon. Unique race numbers were assigned by race organisers to each entrant. Individuals were then requested to register and collect their race packs during the two days preceding the marathon. At registration, each entrant was invited to participate in the study, to sign a consent form agreeing to their participation, and to complete an interviewer administered pre-race questionnaire.During the race, information was collected on all injuries and other health problems sustained by runners who attended the medical aid posts. Medical aid posts were placed along the race as well as at the finish line. In the week following the race, all entrants were mailed a post-race questionnaire. In addition, a pre-race questionnaire and consent form was sent to those entrants who had not originally completed it. The post-race questionnaire inquired about injuries and other medical problems sustained both during or immediately after the marathon and in the seven days following the marathon. Participants were asked about any systemic health problems, such as light headedness, nausea, diarrhoea, stomach problems, and chills. They were then asked about specific health problems, using a matrix of 13 body sites by 11 problem types. The entrants were asked to complete an identical matrix for problems occurring in the seven days after the marathon. A stamped addressed envelope was provided for the return of the questionnaire(s). ...

Risk factors for injuries and other health problems sustained in a marathon.

“…Further details on the types of problems sustained have been reported previously. 7 Decreased risks of constitutional problems were associated with increasing age, with significant decreases in risk observed for those aged 35-39 (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.21 to 0.87) and for those aged 40 or older (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.22 to 0.85) compared with those aged less than 25. Increased risks were associated with being unwell in the previous two weeks (OR 1.74; 95% CI 1.19 to 2.56) (table 1).…”

“…Further details on the types of problems sustained have been reported previously. 7 StiVness or pain, or both, in the front thigh was reported by 526 (60.1%) subjects and was shown to be positively associated with participation in cycling, increased number of days for each week of training, and with drinking alcohol once a month or more (table 3). An inverted-U relation was found between age and risk of hamstring injury, with increased risks only in those aged 30-34 (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.22).…”

“…1 However, it is well documented that injuries and other health problems due to running are not uncommon, particularly for those taking part in marathon running. [2][3][4][5][6][7] To date, most studies on running injuries have been descriptive, and as a consequence little information is available about potentially modifiable risk and protective factors. [8][9][10] This paper reports the findings from a cohort study in which baseline information on potential risks for injury, obtained from runners before their participation in the 1993 Auckland Citibank marathon, was linked to information on the occurrence of injuries and other constitutional problems during or immediately after the marathon.…”

Incidence and determinants of lower extremity running injuries in long distance runners: a systematic review

“…Thirteen prospective cohort studies [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] and four retrospective cohort studies [22][23][24][25] were included. The study characteristics of the selected studies were described to obtain insight into the homogeneity of the study populations (table 1).…”

No immediate effects of highly cushioned shoes on basic running biomechanics

“…With such a large number of people running, the risk and incidence of running-related injuries will likely continue. During a 12-month period of running, it has been reported that up to 90% of runners will suffer a running-related injury (Fields, Sykes, Walker, & Jackson, 2010;Satterthwaite, Larmer, Gardiner, & Norton, 1996;Van Gent, et al, 2007).…”