This means that the underlying cause of many of these injuries remains in question. Past studies and popular opinion have blamed increased mileage, excess body weight, over-striding, modern running shoes, going barefoot, weak hips, diet, and rough pavement or trails. But most often, studies have found that the best indicator of a future injury is a past one, which, frankly, is not a helpful conclusion for runners hoping not to get hurt.

As mentioned before more and more studies more emphasize that the prevention of sports injuries should more focus on changes of behavior by health education, that’s why experienced academics/researchers in prevention (exercise specialist) and rehabilitation (physical therapist and medical doctor) of sports injuries in collaboration with experienced senior runners (Dro.Me.A racing) and together with manager professionals experienced in organizing company sport events aim to promote health education in recreational athletes. Running injuries’ prevention is therefore an (unfortunately) important related area of study, with practical – day to day- training implications for many individuals. Therefore, it is not a surprise that publications related to training for injury prevention sparked public interest. In specific, researchers at Harvard Medical School and other universities (Davis et al, 2015) decided to look at running injuries, one of the more obvious but surprisingly understudied aspects of running, and to focus their attention, in part, on those rare long-time runners who have never been hurt.

In more detail, they set out to look at pounding, or impact loading, which means the amount of force that we create when we strike the ground. Pounding is, of course, inevitable during a run. But runners with similar body types and running styles can experience wildly different amounts of impact loading, and it hasn’t been clear to what extent these differences directly contribute to injuries. For that reason, Davis and colleagues (2015) recruited 249 female recreational athletes who each ran at least 20 miles a week. They investigated the participants’ strides by having them run over a force plate that recorded the impact of each step. During that time, more than 100 of the runners reported sustaining an injury that was serious enough to require medical attention. Another 40 or so reported minor injuries, while the rest remained uninjured. More remarkably, in the minds of the researchers, 21 of the runners not only did not become injured during the two-year study but also had not had a prior injury. In conclusion, this new study found that a group of runners who had never been hurt landed each footfall more softly than a group who had been injured badly enough to seek medical attention. The takeaway was that a softer footfall appears to reduce the likelihood of injury and it was suggested that runners should take out the earbuds and pay attention to the sound of their footsteps!The take home message was “If you land louder, it’s harder,” Davis said. “It’s work, but you can make your foot-strikes softer.”