PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Irene S Davis AU - Bradley J Bowser AU - David R Mullineaux TI - Greater vertical impact loading in female runners with medically diagnosed injuries: a prospective investigation AID - 10.1136/bjsports-2015-094579 DP - 2016 Jul 01 TA - British Journal of Sports Medicine PG - 887--892 VI - 50 IP - 14 4099 - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/14/887.short 4100 - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/14/887.full SO - Br J Sports Med2016 Jul 01; 50 AB - Background Running has been critical to human survival. Therefore, the high rate of injuries experienced by modern day runners is puzzling. Landing on the heel, as most modern day shod runners do, results in a distinct vertical impact force that has been shown to be associated with running-related injuries. However, these injury studies were retrospective in nature and do not establish cause and effect.Objective To determine whether runners with high impacts are at greater risk for developing medically diagnosed injuries.Methods 249 female runners underwent a gait analysis to measure vertical instantaneous loading rate, vertical average loading rate (VALR), vertical impact peak (VIP) and peak vertical force. Participants then recorded their mileage and any running-related injuries monthly in a web-based, database programme. Variables were first compared between the entire injured (INJ; n=144) and uninjured (n=105) groups. However, the focus of this study was on those injured runners seeking medical attention (n=103) and those who had never injured (n=21).Results There were no differences between the entire group of injured and uninjured groups. However, all impact-related variables were higher in those with medically diagnosed injuries compared with those who had never been injured. (effect size (ES) 0.4–0.59). When VALR was >66.0 body weight (BW)/s, the odds of being DX_INJ were 2.72 (95% CI 1.0 to 7.4). Impact loading was associated with bony and soft-tissue injuries.Conclusions Vertical average loading rate was lower in female runners classified as ‘never injured’ compared with those who had been injured and sought medical attention.