Quickly increasing mileage and overuse injuries

The 10 per cent rule for increasing your weekly mileage doesn’t seem to apply as strictly as some preach.

A recent study of 874 runners put the rule, which suggests not increasing your mileage by more than 10 per cent each week, to the test. It tracked the distance ran by each runner for a year, categorizing their weekly mileage into groups of less than 10 per cent increase from the previous week or a regression, 10-30 per cent increases, and 30 or higher per cent increases. Researchers took the results and compared them with injury rates and what types of injuries arouse.

Somewhat surprisingly, there was no statistical difference in the rate of injury between the three groups. In total, 202 runners got injured over the yearlong study, but those who rapidly increased their mileage didn’t seem more prone than others to injuries, though there were differences in the groupings. Those who rapidly increased their mileage saw different types of injuries. The runners who increased their mileage by over 30 per cent during some weeks suffered more overuse injuries, such as stress fractures, iliotibial band syndrome and bursitis.

The research was published in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. The authors suggest that runners who increase their mileage week-to-week by over 30 per cent may not be at higher risk of injury, but that they are at higher risk overuse injuries, but also note the topic may need more research done.