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Theses and dissertations (Health Sciences)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/12

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Marathon running

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    The effectiveness of pain neuroscience education in the treatment of recreational marathon runners with chronic running related knee injuries
    (2023) Naidoo, Tyren; Padayachy, Keseri; Louw, Adriaan
    Background: Running has a long history as a mode of exercise and in recent years the popularity of running has increased especially in South Africa. However, it may have adverse short- and long-term effects through running-related injuries. For marathon runners, one of the most common consequences of this is injury to the knee joint complex. Recreational runners presenting with injuries have partially recovered from their injury yet continue to experience pain. Which emphasises the necessity for treatment to be more comprehensively through a biopsychosocial model Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) component, where a greater understanding of how the nervous system processes injury and pain is utilised. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) combined with chiropractic care versus chiropractic care alone for the reduction of pain due to chronic running-related knee pain in recreational marathon runners within the eThekwini Municipality. Methodology: The study used a quantitative randomised controlled single-blinded design, in which the participants were blinded. The study design followed a phase II randomised clinical trial. Recreational marathon runners from the eThekwini region, both male or female, between the ages of 18 and 65, were recruited for this study. Participants were randomly assigned and received either Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) and chiropractic care or chiropractic care only. Both Group 1 and 2 had a sample size of 23 each, with a total sample size of 46 participants. Data was captured on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and imported into SPSS version 27 for analysis. Results: There was no significant difference between the intervention and control group, with respect to Pain Catastrophization Scale (PCS), and the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) recordings. However, both the Intervention and control group under analysis showed a decrease in their Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NRS) readings, where the control group showed a higher mean score (decrease) over time compared to the PNE (intervention group). Conclusion: Chronic running-related knee pain did not change significantly. The findings correlate with the complexity of pain in previous PNE studies. Given the anatomical changes associated with running-related knee injuries, it was not surprising that running activities and range of motion did not change significantly either.
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    An injury profile and management analysis of marathon runners at selected marathons in the great eThekwini and uMgungundlovu Municipalities during 2014
    (2016) Van Niekerk, Giselle; Korporaal, Charmaine Maria; Gomes, Adrian Neil
    Background: Running injuries are increasingly common as participation in this sport increases. Health care providers need to be better able to treat and manage these injuries and prevent their recurrence. Thus, there is a need for profiles of different population groups to enable the development of health promotion and injury prevention strategies. This research study profiled and tracked runners over seven marathons held in the eThekwini and uMgungundlovu Municipalities during the first quarter of 2014. Methods: This Durban University of Technology, Institutional Research and Ethics Committee approved retrospective Chiropractic Treatment Facility record analysis, analysed 741 recorded marathon visits. The records were based on a previously validated data collection tool (CSSA questionnaire) that allowed clinical data to be captured relating to patient demographics, anatomical site of the complaint, clinical impression, diagnosis and treatment. These fields were analysed for each visit, and then captured in SPSS version 22 with records only being excluded because they were unsigned. Descriptive and inferential statistics (McNemar’s tests) were compiled and a p-value of 0.05 was used. Results: The majority of the runners were Black males of approximately 40 years of age. A total of 95.6% of runners presented with overuse injuries, of which 73.6% and 89.3% had no history of previous injury or trauma respectively, and with 94.7% being able to continue participation. The shin and calf (21.7%), thigh (21.6%) and lumbar regions (16.1%) were most commonly affected by injuries which were predominantly muscle strains (23.2%) and SI syndrome (21.4%). These injuries were treated by manipulation (82.8%), massage (57.2%) and PNF stretching (33.6%). With runners that presented at subsequent marathons, a significant difference (McNemar’s p=0.013) in history of previous injury between the first and second marathon was found, with the runner being more likely to report a history of previous injury at their second marathon visit. Specific trends, although not significant, were found for specific subgroups (defined by age, gender, ethnicity, history of previous injury / trauma and chronicity of the diagnoses). Conclusion: The data is not dissimilar to the literature on running injuries, although specific trends in terms of sub categories were noted. These trends require further investigation through prospective, longitudinal studies.