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Epidemiology of Lower-extremity Musculoskeletal Injuries in Runners: An Overview of Systematic Reviews

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This overview of systematic reviews aimed to summarize the current published systematic reviews investigating the prevalence, incidence, types, and locations of lower-extremity running-related musculoskeletal injuries.

Recent Findings

Studies have addressed the prevalence and incidence of running-related musculoskeletal injuries in different countries and different types of runners. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no overview of systematic reviews on the epidemiology of lower-extremity injuries in runners.

Summary

The overall incidence of running-related musculoskeletal injuries ranged from 0.9% to 99%, and the prevalence ranged from 36% to 63.5%. Injuries were most commonly reported at or below the knee. The most common anatomical sites were the knee, followed by the ankle-foot, calf, and upper leg (hamstring, thigh, and quadriceps). The most common types of injuries were plantar fasciitis, medial stress syndrome, patellofemoral pain syndrome, Achilles tendinopathy, sprains, contractures, and ligament injuries.

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Abbreviations

AMSTAR 2:

Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews

BIREME:

Regional Library of Medicine

MeSH:

Medical Subject Headings

PRISMA:

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Postgraduate Program in Medicine and Health, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Salvador, BA, Brazil

    Mansueto Gomes Neto, Fabio Luciano Arcanjo & Janice de Souza Guimarães

  2. Physiotherapy Research Group, UFBA, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

    Mansueto Gomes Neto, Fabio Luciano Arcanjo & Cristiano Sena Conceição

  3. Physical Therapy Department, UFBA, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

    Mansueto Gomes Neto & Cristiano Sena Conceição

  4. Instituto Brasil de Tecnologias da Saúde (IBTS), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Leonardo Fossati Metsavaht, Eliane Celina Guadagnin & Gustavo Leporace de Oliveira Lomelino Soares

  5. Biocinética, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Fabio Luciano Arcanjo, Eliane Celina Guadagnin & Gustavo Leporace de Oliveira Lomelino Soares

  6. Postgraduate Program in Health Science Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), Aracaju, SE, Brazil

    Vitor Oliveira Carvalho

  7. Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal da Bahia- UFBA, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde. Av. Reitor Miguel Calmon s/n, Vale do Canela Salvador, BA, CEP 40.110-100, Brazil

    Mansueto Gomes Neto

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Contributions

MGN: Conception and design of the study, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting the article, and Final approval of the version to be submitted; LM: Conception and design of the study, Analysis and interpretation of data, and Final approval of the version to be submitted; FLA: Conception and design of the study, Analysis and interpretation of data, Final approval of the version to be submitted; JG: Conception and design of the study, Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be submitted; CSC: Conception and design of the study, Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting the article, and Final approval of the version to be submitted; ECG: Conception and design of the study, Analysis and interpretation of data, Final approval of the version to be submitted; VOC: Conception and design of the study, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting the article, and Final approval of the version to be submitted; GLS Conception and design of the study, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting the article, and Final approval of the version to be submitted. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mansueto Gomes Neto.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Gomes Neto, M., Fossati Metsavaht, L., Luciano Arcanjo, F. et al. Epidemiology of Lower-extremity Musculoskeletal Injuries in Runners: An Overview of Systematic Reviews. Curr Emerg Hosp Med Rep 11, 74–87 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40138-023-00263-6

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