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Protocol
Study protocol of a 52-week Prospective Running INjury study in Gothenburg (SPRING)
  1. Jonatan Jungmalm1,
  2. Stefan Grau1,
  3. Pia Desai2,
  4. Jon Karlsson2,
  5. Rasmus Østergaard Nielsen3
  1. 1 Center for Health and Performance, Department of Food and Nutrition and Sport Science, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
  2. 2 Sahlgrenska Academy, Department of Orthopaedics, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
  3. 3 Section of Sport Science, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
  1. Correspondence to Jonatan Jungmalm; jonatan.jungmalm{at}gu.se

Abstract

Introduction It is assumed that a running-related (overuse) injury occurs when a specific structure of the human body is exposed to a load that exceeds that structures’ load capacity. Therefore, monitoring training load is an important key to understanding the development of a running-related injury. Additionally, other distribution, magnitude and capacity-related factors should be considered when aiming to understand the causal chain of injury development. This paper presents a study protocol for a prospective cohort study that aims to add comprehensive information on the aetiology of running-related injuries and present a new approach for investigating changes in training load with regard to running-related injuries.

Methods and analysis This study focused on recreational runners, that is, runners exposed to a minimum weekly average of 15 km for at least 1 year. Participants will undergo baseline tests consisting of a clinical/anthropometrical examination and biomechanical measurements. Furthermore, participants will log all training sessions in a diary on a weekly basis for 1 year. The primary exposure variable is changes in training load. A medical practitioner will examine runners suffering from running-related pain and, if possible, make a clear diagnosis. Finally, additional time-varying exposure variables will be included in the main analysis, whereas the analysis for the secondary purpose is based on time-fixed baseline-related risk factors.

Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval (DNR: 712–15) for the study and its design was obtained from the Gothenburg regional ethical review board. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

  • biomechanics
  • injury
  • running
  • prospective

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000394

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors JJ drafted the manuscript together with RØN, with feedback from PD, JK and SG. SG initiated the research project and designed the trial protocol. JK is the medical practitioner in the project. All authors approved the final manuscript.

    • Funding The study is funded by Sten A Olssons Foundation for Research and Culture located in Gothenburg, Sweden.

    • Disclaimer The funder of the study had no role in planning the study design or writing this manuscript, and will have no role in data collection or data analysis. 

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.