Incidence of Running-Related Injuries Per 1000 h of running in Different Types of Runners: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: No systematic review has identified the incidence of running-related injuries per 1000 h of running in different types of runners. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present review was to systematically search the literature for the incidence of running-related injuries per 1000 h of running in different types of runners, and to include the data in meta-analyses. DATA SOURCES: A search of the PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, PEDro and Web of Science databases was conducted. STUDY SELECTION: Titles, abstracts, and full-text articles were screened by two blinded reviewers to identify prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials reporting the incidence of running-related injuries in novice runners, recreational runners, ultra-marathon runners, and track and field athletes. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: Data were extracted from all studies and comprised for further analysis. An adapted scale was applied to assess the risk of bias. RESULTS: After screening 815 abstracts, 13 original articles were included in the main analysis. Running-related injuries per 1000 h of running ranged from a minimum of 2.5 in a study of long-distance track and field athletes to a maximum of 33.0 in a study of novice runners. The meta-analyses revealed a weighted injury incidence of 17.8 (95 % confidence interval [CI] 16.7–19.1) in novice runners and 7.7 (95 % CI 6.9–8.7) in recreational runners. LIMITATIONS: Heterogeneity in definitions of injury, definition of type of runner, and outcome measures in the included full-text articles challenged comparison across studies. CONCLUSION: Novice runners seem to face a significantly greater risk of injury per 1000 h of running than recreational runners. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0333-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.