Does high-intensity running to fatigue influence lower limb injury risk?

Rice, Hannah; Starbuck, Chelsea; Willer, Jasmin; Allen, Sam; Bramah, Christopher; Jones, Richard; Herrington, Lee; Folland, Jonathan

Abstract

The aim of this study was to quantify changes in peak bending moments at the distal tibia, peak patellofemoral joint contact forces and peak Achilles tendon forces during a high-intensity run to fatigue at middle-distance speed. Observational study. 16 high-level runners (7 female) ran on a treadmill at the final speed achieved during a preceding maximum oxygen uptake test until failure (~3 min). Three-dimensional kinetics and kinematics were used to derive and compare tibial bending moments, patellofemoral joint contact forces and Achilles tendon forces at the start, 33 %, 67 % and the end of the run. Average running speed was 5.7 (0.4) m·s . There was a decrease in peak tibial bending moments (-6.8 %, p = 0.004) from the start to the end of the run, driven by a decrease in peak bending moments due to muscular forces (-6.5 %, p = 0.001), whilst there was no difference in peak bending moments due to joint reaction forces. There was an increase in peak patellofemoral joint forces (+8.9 %, p = 0.026) from the start to the end of the run, but a decrease in peak Achilles tendon forces (-9.1 %, p < 0.001). Running at a fixed, high-intensity speed to failure led to reduced tibial bending moments and Achilles tendon forces, and increased patellofemoral joint forces. Thus, the altered neuromechanics of high-intensity running to fatigue may increase patellofemoral joint injury risk, but may not be a mechanism for tibial or Achilles tendon overuse injury development.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 20, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Aug 26, 2024
• Publication Date: Aug 26, 2024
• Deposit Date: Aug 29, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 11, 2024
• Journal: Journal of science and medicine in sport
• Print ISSN: 1440-2440
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2024.08.205
• Keywords: Neuromechanics, Kinetics, Running gait, Musculoskeletal modelling, Overuse injury
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244024004900
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Does high-intensity running to fatigue influence lower limb injury risk?; Journal Title: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2024.08.205; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Sports Medicine Australia.