Prevention of lower extremity injuries in runners

Abstract:

Running is one of the most popular sports activities today, both in the world and in Croatia. Even though running brings great health benefits and prolongs life, it also carries the risk of injuries. Since the large number of people are professional or recreational runners, and half of them are injured at least once a year, and most of these injuries occur in the lower extremities, prevention of lower extremity injuries in runners is of great medical and public health importance. Factors that reduce the risk of lower extremity injuries in runners are comfortable sports running shoes, alternation of two pairs of different sports running shoes, proper running step, higher running cadence, adequate nutrition, training volume less than 64 kilometers per week, running with optimal intensity, training frequency between two and five times a week, orthopedic treatment of differences in the length of the legs and sunken feet, and optimal BMI. Running brings great benefits to patients with rheumatic diseases. Running reduces the increased cardiovascular risk, helps regulate body weight, improves pulmonary status and generally has a positive effect on the quality of life of rheumatic patients.

Key words:
acute running injuries; lower limb overexertion syndromes; prevention of running injuries; rheumatic diseases; risk factors