Date of Graduation

Spring 2014

Degree

Master of Science in Nursing

Department

Nursing

Committee Chair

Kathryn Hope

Abstract

As the sport and leisure activity of running has grown over past decades, so have deliberations on the effects running has on the body and general health. Running has documented health benefits; however, researchers are discovering that endurance running may induce negative effects on those participating in consistent practice. A correlational path analysis design was used to validate a theoretical model examining the effects of demographics, running characteristics, and health history on the number of injuries and physiologic conditions in adult novice endurance runners. Convenience and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants. Methods consisted of cross-sectional data collection using a researcher-developed paper survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive, bivariate, and linear regression correlational statistics. The 61 participants (12% response rate) reported 37 running-related injuries (RRIs) and 17 reported running-related physiologic conditions (RRPCs). The two most common RRIs reported were injuries involving the knee (37%) and shin splints (24%). The two most common RRPCs reported were cramping (35%) and fatigue (17%). The typical respondent was Caucasian, female, mean age of 43 years, a higher mileage novice runner, with one to three years of running experience. There were no statistically significant bivariate correlations in the model, and no predictor variables were found to be statistically significant for either dependent variable. Still, the role of predictors of injury in the causal mechanism leading to injury needs further investigation.

Keywords

endurance running, predictors of injury, novice runner, prevention strategies, health-related issues of endurance running

Subject Categories

Nursing

Copyright

© Jennifer Lynn Metscher

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