Waunakee Track and Field Project
A prospective cohort study aims to prospectively monitor risk factors for injury among high school track and field athletes while testing new methods for recording training and running mechanics outside of a laboratory setting. The results of this study will inform stakeholders in the running community (athletes, coaches, parents, etc.) about safe training loads (volume and intensity) for youth runners and how behavioral characteristics interact with training load to influence injury risk. Studying high school runners in a normal team setting is critical because of the unique physical maturation, psychological development, multiple athletic demands, and other contextual factors that are different from college or adult runners.
Team Implementation of Step Rate Manipulation
Ground breaking work done by colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison showed the immediate biomechanical changes that occur when the number of steps a runner takes per minute (step rate) is manipulated. Researchers have also shown how step rate is related to multiple running-related injuries. Step rate manipulation is an extremely common, successful clinical treatment for many running-related injuries. Most often, step rate is changed with a single runner who is listening to a metronome or other audible sound. We are developing methods to implement step rate change in a team setting during a high school cross country or track and field practice. We are investigating if this can prevent running-related injuries or shorten the days of training limitation for runners who become injured.