Foot and Ankle Characteristics in 225 Runners With and Without a History of Running-Related Injury: A Case-Control Study.

CONTEXT: A previous study has shown that strengthening the foot muscles could decrease the risk of running-related injuries by 2.4 times in endurance runners. However, it remains unclear whether runners with stronger foot muscle have less risk of running-related injuries. The aim of this study was to compare foot-ankle characteristics between runners with and without a history of running-related injury.

DESIGN

Retrospective case-control study.

METHODS

This study enrolled 225 runners in this retrospective study. The participants filled out a questionnaire related to their history of running-related injury during the previous year. A foot morphology screening and a maximal voluntary isometric strength of ankle plantar flexor, hallux, and lesser toe flexor were performed. The footstrike pattern and cadence were determined using a high-speed camera during a self-paced run on a treadmill.

RESULTS

Runners with and without a history of overuse running-related injury had no significant differences in foot-ankle muscle strength. However, faster runners were more likely to report a history of overuse foot injury (odds ratio: 1.51, 95% CI, 1.14 to 2.00; P = .004). Runners with a history of tibia injury were less experienced (odds ratio: 0.83, 95% CI, 0.69 to 0.99; P = .038) and had lower cadence (odds ratio: 0.84, 95% CI, 0.88 to 0.99; P = .042).

CONCLUSIONS

Runners with a history of overuse running-related injury, whether affecting any anatomical region, or specifically the foot do not exhibit reduced foot-ankle muscle strength. Runners with and without a history of running-related injury had no differences in foot-ankle muscle strength, suggesting that foot-ankle strength alone was not associated with previous injury status in this cohort.