Is diet and lifestyle associated with risk of running injury?
Research about running injury and diet is limited, particularly in masters athletes (aged ≥35 years) who run recreationally. Masters athletes may be at increased risk of running injury due to changes associated with ageing.
Participating in the study would involve:
A 6-month commitment, including initial online questionnaires, one in-person visit to the University of South Australia City East Campus, Adelaide and a 6-month self-monitoring period.
- Prior to clinic visit: Online questionnaires regarding your general health, lifestyle, training, eating behaviour (including disordered eating risk) and sports nutrition knowledge.
- Clinic visit: Review of pre-clinic questionnaires. Non-invasive physical measurements, including height, weight, body composition, bone mineral density and resting energy expenditure.
- Post clinic visit: 6-month period where the research team will monitor your running through the Strava app and you will report any running injury(s) that you develop. You will also self-report your diet and complete online questionnaires regarding your general health, training, sleep and mental health during weeks 8, 16 and 24.
Upon successful completion of the study, participants will receive a copy of their individual results (valued at $350), as well as a summary of the study findings.
To be eligible to participate, you must:
- Be aged ≥35 years
- Dedicate most of your training time to running
- Be running ≥30 km/week on average for at least 6 months
- Be willing to attend Adelaide CBD for one clinic visit
- Be non-smoking for at least 12 months
- Not be currently injured or injured within the previous month
- Not be pregnant or breastfeeding within the previous 12 months
- Not have thyroid dysfunction, liver disease, kidney disease or cancer
- Not be using medication that may influence bone health, e.g. corticosteroids or hormone blockers.
- Have your own device to record running data (GPS watch or phone app)
Enrol for the study
If you are interested in participating or would like more information about the study, please contact us via
email: unisa.researchvolunteers@unisa.edu.au or
Ph: 8302 1365
This project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of South Australia, Application No. 204912.
