Differences in Gait Parameters Between Healthy Runners and Runners with a Running-related Injury: A Cross-sectional Survey of Indian Population

Research Objectives: To analyze the differences in gait parameters between runners with and without a running-related injury.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Healthy runners of the Indian population and patients with a running-related injury presenting to the PMR OPD at a tertiary care hospital in India.

Participants: 90 healthy runners without a running-related injury and 90 runners with a diagnosed running-related injury which is defined as an injury that causes the runner to stop running for at least 7 days. A runner is an individual who runs at least 10 miles during at least 1 week in a period of 3 months.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures: The study participants were asked to walk at their own comfortable walking pace on Zebris FDM-T treadmill system which was used to record the gait parameters and the differences in gait parameters between the two groups were studied in terms of -
1. Vertical ground reaction forces
2. Foot rotation
3. Spatio-temporal gait parameters
4. Centre of pressure parameters.

Results: Significant mean differences were observed between the two groups in spatio-temporal gait parameters as follows - step length 2.83 cm (95% CI: 0.67 to 4.98, P = 0.015), step time 0.026 seconds (95% CI: 0.009 to 0.04, P = 0.0009), stride length 5.70 cm (95% CI: 0.365 to 11.03, P = 0.036), stride time 0.048 seconds (95% CI: 0.007 to 0.088, P = 0.02), cadence 3.24 steps/minute (95% CI: 0.105 to 6.38, P = 0.043), velocity 0.26 km/h (95% CI: 0.08 to 0.43, P = 0.004), and significant median difference of 1.5 mm (95% CI: 0 to 5, P = 0.035) was observed in the lateral symmetry of the centre of pressure between the two groups. No significant differences were observed in the foot rotation and the vertical ground reaction forces.

Conclusions: The study compared the biomechanical presentation of the injured and the non-injured runners. Higher step lengths, stride lengths, cadence and velocities and lower step times, stride times and lateral shift of the centre of pressure are linked to the development of running-related injuries.

Author(s) Disclosures: Nil.