Increase in the Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio relates to Injury Risk in Competitive Runners

This study used the workload derivatives acute workload, chronic workload, and acute: chronic workload ratios to investigate the relation between workload and injury risk in running. Twenty-three competitive runners kept a daily training log for 24 months. The runners reported training duration, training intensity and injuries. One-week (acute) and 4-week (chronic) workloads were calculated as the average of training duration multiplied by training intensity. The acute:chronic workload ratio was determined dividing the acute and chronic workloads. Results show that a fortnightly low increase of the acute:chronic workload ratio (0.10–0.78) led to an increased risk of sustaining an injury (p<0.001). Besides, a low increase of the acute:chronic workload ratio (0.05–0.62) between the second week and third week before an injury showed an association with increased injury risk (p=0.013). These findings demonstrate that the acute:chronic workload ratio relates to injury risk. [...] © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New YorkArticle in Thieme eJournals: Table of contents  |  Abstract  |  Full text
Source: International Journal of Sports Medicine - Category: Sports Medicine Authors: Tags: Training & Testing Source Type: research