Psychological Profile of Trail Runners Associated With Running-Related Injuries: A Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND

Trail running has increased in popularity due to the benefits of physical activity in nature. However, trail running has an inherent risk of running-related injuries (RRI). It is known that athletes with certain psychological traits have a greater tendency to suffer injuries; however, this is unknown in trail runners. The main objective of this study was to identify trail runners' psychological profiles and to compare the proportion of RRI across these profiles.

HYPOTHESIS: Trail runners with psychological profiles of high stress, precompetitive anxiety, mental fatigue, competitiveness, and poor sleep quality are at increased risk of RRI.

STUDY

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 2.

METHODS

A Gaussian mixture model cluster analysis was performed on 202 trail runners (55.5% male; aged 38.7 [33.4-46.2] years) with psychological stress, cognitive and somatic anxiety, self-confidence, mental fatigue, sleep quality, and competitiveness measured 4 weeks before participating in a race. The proportion of RRI during the race was recorded and compared across clusters.

RESULTS

Overall RRI proportion during competition was 11.3% (n = 24). The most common RRI were muscle (41.7%) and tendon/bursa (16.7%) injuries, affecting primarily the knee (33.3%) and lower leg (20.8%). Five psychological profiles were identified. Cluster 1 (competitive runners with moderate psychological stress and mental fatigue, low sleep quality and anxiety, and high self-confidence) had a higher RRI proportion than Cluster 3 (similar traits but lower psychological stress, mental fatigue, and higher self-confidence; 21.2% vs 3.2%; P = 0.02).

CONCLUSION

Certain psychological profiles in trail runners were associated with higher RRI risk.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The medical team or trail running coaches should monitor runners with psychological profiles with higher psychological stress, mental fatigue, and cognitive anxiety, as well as lower self-confidence and sleep quality, to design strategies to reduce their risk of RRI.