Background: Running is one of the most popular physical activities in the world and the number of runners has increased over the past 40 years. One of the consequences of the growing running popularity is the increase of musculoskeletal injuries. Objectives: To describe the routines, training characteristics and history of injury in recreational runners and to evaluate possible associations bet...

Leg stiffness between high-arched (HA) and low-arched (LA) runners was compared. It was hypothesized that high-arched runners would exhibit increased leg stiffness, increased sagittal plane support moment, greater vertical loading rates, decreased knee flexion excursion and increased activation of the knee extensor musculature. Twenty high-arched and 20 low-arched subjects were included in this...

PURPOSE To identify risk factors for stress fracture among young female distance runners. METHODS Participants were 127 competitive female distance runners, aged 18-26, who provided at least some follow-up data in a randomized trial among 150 runners of the effects of oral contraceptives on bone health. After completing a baseline questionnaire and undergoing bone densitometry, they were foll...

Ballistic movements like saccades require the brain to generate motor commands without the benefit of sensory feedback. Despite this, saccades are remarkably accurate. Theory suggests that this accuracy arises because the brain relies on an internal forward model that monitors the motor commands, predicts their sensory consequences, and corrects eye trajectory midflight. If control of saccades ...

Consider the unit circle C and a circular arc A of length l = |A| < 1. It is shown that there exists k = k(l) ∈ N, and a schedule for k runners with k distinct but constant speeds so that at any time t ≥ 0, at least one of the k runners is not in A.

In this investigation, we compared lipid and inflammatory parameters in regular long distance runners with matched sedentary controls. Long distance runners had significantly lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and C-reactive protein levels than the control group. This exercise-induced reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was independent of the decrease in C-reactive protein l...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate common factors associated in the development of acute renal failure (ARF) in Comrades Marathon runners. METHODS This was a retrospective case series of 4 runners hospitalised post-race with ARF in the 89 km 2010 Comrades Marathon. The outcome measures were incidence of analgesic use, levels of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and degree of electrolyte supplementation (sodiu...

The purpose of this study was to compare the heel pad mechanical properties of runners, who repetitively load the heel pad during training, with cyclists who do not load their heel pads during training. Ten competitive long distance runners and 10 competitive cyclists volunteered for this study. The thickness of the unloaded heel pad was measured using realtime B-mode ultrasonography. A heel pa...

In 219 recreational male runners, we investigated changes in body mass, total body water, haematocrit, plasma sodium concentration ([Na(+)]), and urine specific gravity as well as fluid intake during a 100-km ultra-marathon. The athletes lost 1.9 kg (s = 1.4) of body mass, equal to 2.5% (s = 1.8) of body mass (P < 0.001), 0.7 kg (s = 1.0) of predicted skeletal muscle mass (P < 0.001), 0.2 kg (s...