Item Details

abstract

EFFECTS OF STRENGTH TRAINING ON INJURY PREVENTION IN FEMALE RUNNERS: THE STRENGTH TRAINING AND RUNNING STUDYABSTRACT Introduction: The opportunity to examine strength training in female runners has implications for preventing injury, increasing training time, and identifying important mechanisms of change including strength, knee stiffness, and self-efficacy. This randomized clinical trial provides the first evidence on the effect of strength training in preventing overuse injuries in female runners. Purpose: This Phase II randomized clinical trial compared the effects of 9-months of strength training to a control group on: (1) injury rates in female runners during the 9 month intervention period, and for 9 months after completing the intervention, and (2) on the potential mechanisms of injury including strength, knee stiffness, and self-efficacy. Methods: This is a randomized clinical trial of 149 female runners. Inclusion criteria were running a minimum of 5 miles per week and being injury free for at least the past 6 months. Data were collected at baseline on training, medical and injury histories, demographics, anthropometrics, strength, gait biomechanics, and psychosocial variables. Injuries occurring over the 9-month intervention and 9-month observation period were diagnosed by an orthopaedic surgeon on the basis of predetermined definitions. Results: More participants randomized to the strength training group sustained an overuse running injury compared to participants randomized to the control group (N=46 in the strength training group were injured and N=36 were injured in the control group). The strength training group also increased knee extensor (mean=79.67 (74.20-85.14), p=0.003) and knee flexor (mean= 49.30 (45.69-52.91), p=0.28) muscular strength relative to the control group. Values for knee stiffness and self-efficacy were not significantly different between groups. Conclusions: Among female recreational runners an increase in lower extremity strength does not reduce the incidence of overuse injuries.

subject

injury

knee stiffness

runners

self-efficacy

strength training

contributor

Coats, Sarah Austen (author)

Messier, Stephen P (committee chair)

Mihalko, Shannon L (committee member)

Ip, Edward H (committee member)

date

2022-05-24T08:36:14Z (accessioned)

2022 (issued)

degree

Health and Exercise Science (discipline)

2027-06-01 (liftdate)

embargo

2027-06-01 (terms)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/100774 (uri)

language

en (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

title

The Effects of Strength Training on Injury Prevention in Female Runners: The Strength Training and Running Study

type

Thesis