The Running Readiness Scale and Injury in Collegiate Track & Field and Cross Country Athletes.

Context: Track & field and cross country athletes experience high rates of lower extremity injuries. The Running Readiness Scale (RRS) may help determine which athletes have a higher likelihood of lower extremity injury.

Objective: To determine if RRS performance at the start of the season was related to likelihood of experiencing a lower extremity injury during the subsequent track & field or cross country season.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: University.

Patients or other participants: 113 NCAA Division III track & field athletes in running, jumping and vaulting events and cross country runners (50 female, 63 male, mean±SD age 19.9±1.3 years).

Main outcome measure(s): Athletes were assessed on RRS tasks: double-leg hops, plank, step ups, single-leg squats, and wall sit at the start of their season and then were observed by team athletic trainers during the season for occurrence of lower extremity injuries that resulted in missing one or more practices or meets. Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the likelihood of lower extremity injury.

Results: Thirty-seven athletes (32.7%) experienced a lower extremity injury. Athletes scoring ≤3 on the RRS were almost five times more likely to experience lower extremity injury (AOR=4.8; 95%CI: 2.1-11.3) than athletes scoring ≥ 4. Athletes failing double-leg hops or wall sit tasks were more likely to experience lower extremity injury (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Track & field and cross country athletes with RRS scores of ≤3 had a higher likelihood of lower extremity injury than those with scores of ≥4.