RUNSAFE: "Too Much, Too Soon"

In the British Journal of Sports Medicine March 2020, we discuss the “too much, too soon” theory. 

In running, it is widely accepted that athletes sustain sports injury if they train ‘too much, too soon’. However, not all runners are built the same; some can tolerate more running than others. It is for this reason that prescribing the same training program to all runners to reduce injury risk is not optimal from a coaching perspective. Rather, runners require individualized training plans. 

In acknowledgement of athlete diversity, it is therefore essential that researchers, assisted by runners, coaches and others, ask the right causal research question in studies examining sports injury etiology. In the article, we conclude “In the light of the limitations of population-based prevention that intends to provide all athletes with the same advice, we argue that a stronger emphasis on research questions targeting subgroups of athletes is needed. In doing so, researchers may assist athletes, clinicians and coaches to understand what training advice/program works best, for whom and under what circumstances”. 

In this light, participants in the Garmin-RUNSAFE Running Health Study, are a part of one of the first research studies that, based on a priori defined criteria, seeks to understand what running advice works for certain runners.

Read more about causal questions and the “too much, too soon” theory here:
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2020/03/05/bjsports-2018-100245 
Note that the publisher owns the copyright for these publications so only the abstracts are available for free.

RUNSAFE: The "Wrong" Shoe?

A new publication from the RUNSAFE group that has surfaced March 2020 in the journal Footwear Science. Here, we highlight that the cause underpinning running-related injury occurrence is the relation between exposure to training load, internal tissue loads, and tissue capacity - with tissue load exceeding its capacity being the key biological mechanism in the development of injury.

On this basis, we examined the beliefs of running shoe salespersons and physiotherapy students regarding the influence of running shoes and foot pronation on running injury occurrence. Unfortunately, both populations hold beliefs that do not align well with current understanding of causes underpinning running injury occurrence. 

In the article, it reads “…the use of the terms “wrong shoes” or “adequate shoes” is likely inaccurate terminology. Viewed from a causal perspective, “wrong shoes” effectively do not exist as you are able to run a shorter or greater distance depending on the choice of running shoe… Despite this evidence, it remains common practice to recommend running shoes based on foot morphology and foot pronation”. If you find the topic appealing, you are able to read the abstract of the article here:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19424280.2020.1734869

Runners World: What's That Green Stuff?

Getting Outside in City Green Spaces May Help You Live Longer
Boost the benefits by adding in some exercise, too.
Elizabeth Millard/Runners' World/December 20, 2019

Finding time to enjoy a city park isn’t just a pleasant lunchtime excursion—recent research suggests those outings could help you live longer.

Published in the journal Lancet Public Health, a World Health Organization review of nine major studies from seven countries—representing over 8 million people—on green spaces and all-cause mortality found that there’s a significant association between exposure to green spaces in urban areas and better public health.

Researchers found that for every 0.1 increase in green space within a third of a mile of a person’s home, there was a 4 percent reduction in premature death. This was consistent across every country, including the U.S., China, Spain, Australia, Canada, Italy, and Switzerland...

(Link to article)

Outside: How To Turn Dreadmill To Treadmill?

The Science Behind Your Favorite Workout Playlist 
Mollie Bloudoff-Indelicato/Outside, Jan 31, 2019

...For years, scientists have studied the link between music and heart rate. In 2005, a team of researchers found that listening to music with a fast tempo could speed up heart rates, while a leisurely tempo could slow them down. Furthermore, crescendos—where the volume of a song gradually rises—can increase heart rates, while decrescendos have the opposite effect, according to a small study from 2009 published in the journal Circulation. Although scientists aren’t certain why and how these interactions happen physiologically, relaxing music could be used to maintain a level of serenity for lower-intensity activities like yoga. “I always set my metronome at 60 [bpm] because it’s lower than the normal heart rate, and it helps me relax,” says Rodney Garnett, an ethnomusicologist at the University of Wyoming. “Something that has a slower beat gets a different response than something that has a fast beat..."

(link to article)

Rodale: But I LIKE The Cookie...

Here’s What Just One Day of Binge Eating Does to Your Body
Is that “6-day day diet / 1-day gorge” method putting your health at risk?
By Christa Sgobba/Men’s Health, September 13, 2017

If you eat healthy six days out of the week, you’re allowed to go crazy on the seventh, right? Not exactly: Just one day of binge eating on high fat food can mess with your body, a new study in the journal Nutrients suggests.

In the study, researchers recruited 15 healthy volunteers and gave them a pretty pleasant task: For one day, eat a diet full of tasty, high fat foods—like sausage, bacon, fried eggs, burgers, and cheesecake—totaling 78 percent more total calories than their normal daily requirement. Then, they measured their blood sugar readings and compared it to their levels before their feast...

(Link to Article)