An evaluation of physical performance in collegiate athletes: A randomized controlled trial comparing backward and forward running

Background

Backward running (BR) and forward running (FR) activate distinct neuromuscular pathways and utilize differing biomechanical principles. Although FR is a well-established training modality, the potential advantages of BR for enhancing athletic performance and mitigating injury risk necessitate further exploration. Moreover, there exists a paucity of experimental data comparing these modalities in collegiate athlete populations.

Purpose

This study sought to quantify the differential effects of BR intervention, FR intervention, and no intervention on agility, power, and speed performance in collegiate athletes.

Methods

Thirty collegiate athletes (Aged 18–28 years) were randomly allocated to the BR group (n = 10), FR group (n = 10), and an absolute control (CON) group (n = 10). The BR and FR groups performed running sessions on a treadmill for matched time and intensity biweekly for eight weeks. All athletes were assessed for agility, speed, and power performance before and after the intervention.

Results

Results revealed a significant main effect of time (p < 0.05) and significant group × time interactions (p < 0.05) for all outcomes, mean difference data showed BR outperformed FR & CON in countermovement jump (CMJ) (p < 0.05). For the 10-m sprint performance, a between-group difference was identified. A post-hoc Bonferroni test showed that the BR group performed better than the CON group (p = 0.02) but was not statistically different from the FR group (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

BR intervention led to greater gains in CMJ performance and improved 10-m sprint performance compared to the control group, with little improvement compared to the FR group based on the mean difference data.