None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Many adult distance runners sustain an injury caused by running each year, and there is limited high-quality evidence about how to prevent these injuries. This study aims to find out whether a gym-based exercise programme reduces the number of runners who become injured, compared with a home-based stretching programme. Adults aged 18 to 60 years who run at least twice per week and average at least 10 km per week will be randomly allocated to one of the two programmes, which they complete twice per week for six months alongside their usual running. Injuries and training will be monitored weekly using an online questionnaire, and lower-limb strength and jump performance will be measured at the start and end of the study. We expect that runners who complete the gym-based programme will be less likely to sustain a running-related injury over six months than those who complete the stretching programme.
Interventions
Arm 1: Gym-based progressive high-load resistance training programme.
Participants continue their usual running throughout and additionally complete a progressive lower-limb resistance training programme twice per week for six months. Each session takes approximately 25 minutes, including a short cardiovascular warm-up, and comprises: box squat on a Smith machine (3 sets of 8), single-leg pogos (3 sets of 15 each leg), double-leg calf raise from dorsiflexion (4 sets of 8), eccentric single-leg
Arm 1: Gym-based progressive high-load resistance training programme. Participants continue their usual running throughout and additionally complete a progressive lower-limb resistance training programme twice per week for six months. Each session takes approximately 25 minutes, including a short cardiovascular warm-up, and comprises: box squat on a Smith machine (3 sets of 8), single-leg pogos (3 sets of 15 each leg), double-leg calf raise from dorsiflexion (4 sets of 8), eccentric single-leg box squat (3 sets of 8 each leg), seated calf raise (3 sets of 10), hip thrust using a machine or dumbbells (3 sets of 8), hamstring leg curl (3 sets of 8), and single-leg Borzov jumps (3 sets of 12 each leg). Plyometric exercises are performed with the intent to maximise jump height and minimise ground contact time. Load is individualised and prescribed using repetitions in reserve (RIR), defined as the number of additional repetitions the participant judges they could complete with good technique before technical failure. Participants finish each working set at RIR 1 to 3. Starting load is self-selected during the familiarisation session with guidance from the student researcher. Load is progressed using a double-progression model: if all prescribed sets are completed at an RIR greater than 3, load is increased at the next session by approximately 2.5 to 5 per cent; if the prescribed repetitions cannot be completed at an RIR of 1 or higher, load is held or reduced by the same increment. Sessions are delivered and logged through the MoveHealth application, which provides exercise videos, written instructions, and per-set logging of load and RIR. Participants complete sessions at a nominated Urth Fitness site at no cost, or at their own gym if they already hold a membership. Urth Fitness has three Newcastle locations. Delivery is individual and unsupervised after onboarding. All participants attend a standardised clinician-led familiarisation session with the student researcher (a registered podiatrist) at the baseline appointment, covering exercise demonstration, technique correction, equipment set-up, the load prescription rule, and app logging. The familiarisation session takes approximately 15 minutes and is delivered at the baseline appointment. For fidelity assurance, the student researcher conducts a supervised in-gym observation with each of the first ten participants randomised to this arm, in week one and again at six months, recorded on a standardised Gym Exercise Observation Record. These observations check delivery fidelity and safety only and do not alter the prescribed programme. Adherence is monitored through MoveHealth session logs and defined as completion of at least 80 per cent of prescribed sessions across six months. A session is counted as complete when all prescribed exercises and repetitions are logged. The student researcher reviews session logs and RIR records on a rolling basis and contacts participants whose adherence or load progression appears inconsistent with the prescription.
Sponsors
The University of Newcastle
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Adults aged 18 to 60 years who are currently running at their usual training level, run at least two times per week, and have averaged at least 10 km of running per week over the previous 12 months, allowing for short breaks of up to four weeks (for example holidays or minor illness). Participants must be able to attend the University of Newcastle (Callaghan) or Achieve Podiatry Newcastle for baseline and six-month testing, be willing to complete the allocated exercise programme twice per week for six months, be willing to complete weekly online injury and training surveillance for six months, be willing to be randomly allocated to either exercise programme, and be able to provide informed consent. Eligibility is confirmed through a structured telephone screening interview before enrolment.
Exclusion criteria
Current running-related musculoskeletal injury; a running-related injury causing time loss from running within the previous three months, where time loss is defined as modifying or ceasing running for at least seven consecutive days, missing at least three consecutive planned running sessions, or consulting a health professional because of the problem; lower-limb surgery within the previous six months; fracture involving the spine, pelvis, or lower limb within the previous six months; any neurological, musculoskeletal, or systemic condition that may affect safe participation or the interpretation of study outcomes; and current regular heavy lower-limb resistance training, defined as at least two sessions per week for four or more consecutive weeks within the previous six months performed at intensities close to failure (approximately zero to three repetitions in reserve). Individuals unable or unwilling to comply with study procedures, including the allocated programme, weekly monitoring, and follow-up testing, are also excluded.
Outcome results
None listed