Prevalence and Associated Factors of Injuries Related to Running: A Study among Runners in Sri Lanka

Running is one of the popular sports worldwide and it is the sport of choice for many in Sri Lanka because of its convenience, health benefits and economical nature. However, the potential for running injuries also has been well documented in the world literature. But unfortunately, at present there is no database available on running injuries among Sri Lankan runners. Aim of this study is to generate scientific details on running injuries among runners in Sri Lanka. A cross sectional study was performed among 256 runners (133 short distance runners and 123 long distance runners) in Sri Lanka who perform at provincial and national level competitions. The prevalence of any form of injury was 50.39% (129 injured athletes among 256 participants), while a total of 143 injuries sustained among 256 runners with the prevalence rate of 55.85%. The prevalence of any form of injury among short distance runners was 46.61% and among long distance runners was 54.47%. The body region showing the highest injury prevalence was the Knee joint (22.38%) in both short and long distance runners. Hamstring (18.18%), lower back (13.99%), ankle (13.29%) and calf (11.19%) were the other common sites of injuries. Abnormal Q angle, flat foot and history of previous injuries were found as associated intrinsic risk factors, while not engaging in stretching exercises by holding a stretch >20 seconds, training at hard intensity and sudden alterations in training pattern were found as associated extrinsic risk factors for injuries in runners. Age, body mass index, leg length discrepancy, training time per week and running shoes were found to have no association with the occurrence of injuries in runners. The findings of this study revealed that injury rate is high and suggests that effective preventive strategies are needed to reduce the injury rate in runners in Sri Lanka.