Subjective Assessment of a Runner

Original Editor - Mariam Hashem

Top Contributors - Mariam Hashem, Pierre Roscher, Jess Bell, Tarina van der Stockt, Kim Jackson, Lucinda hampton and Aminat Abolade  

This article or area is currently under construction and may only be partially complete. Please come back soon to see the finished work! (18/03/2021)

Introduction

Running is a popular sport. Running is an acceptable and well-known choice of health, sports and leisure activity. It is well promoted and highly desirable by many people. Endurance running has benefits on body mass, body fat, resting heart rate and cholesterol levels.

Running, like most sports, can also lead to injury and or dysfunction, as running puts specific high loads and demands on joints and soft tissue. Statistically speaking, 25% of long-distance runners are currently injured, and about half of those injuries interferes with their daily activities and cause them restrictions for a period of time.

The incidence of running-related injuries (RRI), ranges from 18.2% to 92.4%, with a prevalence rate ranging from 6.8 to 59 injuries per 1,000 hours of training.

A running-related injuries (RRI) is defined as a musculoskeletal ailment that is attributed to running, and it causes a restriction of running speed, distance, duration, or frequency for at least 1 week. These injuries are usually induced by overuse and repeated musculoskeletal microtrauma. RRI's are influenced by several risk factors such as personal characteristics of the runner, training overload (volume, overall weekly distance) and running experience.

A systematic review showed the overall injury rate was 20.8 injuries per 100 female runners and 20.4 injuries per 100 male runners

Subjective History Considerations

Types of Running

Not all running is the same. Different types of running yield different characteristics and various considerations. When asking your patient about the type of running, it's good to know about the external factors that influence running such as running ground, gears, type of shoes and their rhythm or style of running. Specific shoes for specific terrains are important, as they protect the foot structure and provide better gripping for the runner.

Road running: Road running is free, easily accessible and will offer the largest continuous route to run on. From a safety aspect, road runners may have their safety compromised by sharing the road with vehicles in areas where there is no dedicated running lane. Some roads may be in hilly areas, which may in tern make road running less desirable for beginner runners.

Trail running: Trail running is always different. The dynamics differ to the type of trail. The rhythm tends to be slower in long, sandy roads or long dirt roads, Mountainous or local trails involving uneven surfaces or grounds changing cadence rapidly and step rate, unlike the road run where the cadence would remain similar throughout the run. Running uphill and downhill create different loading. Side to side movement might be expected when they are climbing unlike on the road. Trail running usually requires special trail running shoes.

Treadmill running: Treadmill running is convenient, but it is always difficult to recreate natural "road" conditions on a machine. Many long distance athletes will stay away from treadmill running or training, as the biomechanics demands are so different to road running. The treadmil surface is smoother compared to road and more bouncy, but the biggest factor to consider is that the runner and the treadmill belt moves on a treadmill, where as the road does not move during road running. The treadmill impact factor may need to be considered. Treadmill running is ideal for someone who wants to to some cardiovascular exercise in combination with other gym based exercises. There is also a safety aspect to consider with treadmill running/walking, especially with older people.

Track running: Track running is very unique, and is ideal for short to middle distance athletes. Track athletes often do warm-ups in the opposite direction of the running to avoid muscle shortening on the one side if they're leaning into the corners the whole time. different shoes. Track shoes have very little to no cushioning, they have studs underneath for gripping. Track runners generally are going to be your faster athletes with a very different running style. They mostly run on their toes with high power needed.

Triathlons: Triathlon running during a race/event is done as the 3rd and final discipline in a triathlon after swimming and cycling. The the success of running leg of a triathlon is determined by the performance of the athlete during the swim and the cycle. If an athlete has pushed too hard during the swim and cycle, they may struggle during their run. Many triathletes have one strong discipline and one weaker one. Training for a triathlon may involve focussing on individual disciplines initially and then combining multiple disciplines during a training session closer to the event.

Pace

Pace refers to the average speed of running. Pace is usually tracked on a sports watch or smartphone application such as Strava. We can classify runners by their pace.

• Average runner tends to run at 5.30 minutes/ km
• Medium runner tends to run at five, 5:40 to six to 6:30 minutes per/km
• Slower athlete tends to run at 6:30- 7 minutes and above per/km

Tracking your pace can help when the athlete is returning to running after an injury, as they can compare their speed to that before running as a baseline. It is also an excellent way to set goals and reach them.

Cadence

Cadence refers to steps per minute. Cadence can be tracked on a smartphone application. Cadence can indicate over-striding, which refers to the position of the foot placed in front of the midline when running which predisposes the runner to injuries. Depending on the trail, the faster runners tend to be over 180 steps per minute on a trail run.

Stride Length

Stride length is dependent on the height of the runner, and their cadence should also be taken into consideration when measuring stride length. This objective measure is used to reflect the effort and energy expenditure into running. Different styles of running will have different energy expenditures for different people.

Running Experience & Races

This gives ideas on the duration of running, the capacity of leg muscles, history of injuries and races runner has participated in. This can help plan out the injury rehabilitation, prevention and next race. Training for small races when the runner is planning a big race.

Strength Training

Ask about the strength training. how many times they go to the gym and what type of workout they do?

Coaching

collaborating with coaches can yield benefits in addressing the runner's injuries and training programme.

Running Clubs

Shows how serious they are Social aspect Motivation It will also help us understand the running load

Goals of Running

Understanding the reasons why people run e.g. weight management is important for the motivation and addressing the psychological aspects of running. the language people use to describe their motivation is key in understanding the emotional pressure and drives. Are they motivated to run or scared of not running? Identifying the Persoanl Best helps in establishing a baseline and gives a perspective for the goals.