Developing a Biopsychosocial Prediction Model for Running-Related Injuries

November 7, 2026 updated by: Hui-Ting Shih, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Running-related injuries (RRI) are commonly reported by all levels of runners, which attenuate participation in running. Current evidence has suggested that RRI mostly occur in lower back and lower extremities, and they can be predicted by biopsychosocial factors. In regard of biomechanical factors, previous studies have found that RRI is related to tendon thickness, lower extremities muscle strength, navicular drop, joint alignment, range of motion, kinetic chain, functional movement, and footwear. Increased training volume and participation in marathon competitions are also associated with increased risk of injuries. Furthermore, recent studies has started to investigate influence of psychological aspects, and found correlations between running performance and risk of injuries and passion, grit, and endurance sports self-efficacy. In addition, social factors, such as, sleep and chronotype, may also affect runners' training schedule and recovery, indirectly influencing occurrence of RRI. However, current evidence on biopsychosocial predictors for RRI is limited. Therefore, this study aims to investigate biopsychosocial predictors for RRI in runners who plan to participate in marathons in six-month time. The study plan to recruit 100 participants and measure running habits, physical activity, passion, grit, endurance sports self-efficacy, sleep quality, and chronotype by questionnaires, and lower extremity tendon thickness, muscle thickness, and cross-sectional area by ultrasonography, and lower extremity muscle strength by hand-held dynamometer, and functional performance and running kinematics. The follow-ups will take place every month for consecutive 6 months after the first measurement, and any RRI occurs during the follow-ups will be recorded. The study is expected to assist in understanding mechanism of RRI, further improving sports prevention and treatment strategies.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Taipei, Taiwan, 106064
        • Recruiting
        • 1F., No. 25, Ln. 112, Sec, Section 1, Anhe Rd, Da'an District
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Participants are community runners and are recruited through flyers, posters, and social media platforms, such as, Facebook, Instagram or LINE.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Participants who run regularly at least 5 km per week, have consistently run for over 9 months, and will participate a half of full marathon competition in 6 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants who (1) have musculoskeletal injuries in the recent 3 months; (2) have neurological disorders that would affect movement patterns; (3) are diagnosed with cardiovasculopulmanary or metabolic disease that are contraindications for middle and high intensity activities; (4) have autoimmune disorders; (5) have cancer; (6) are in fever or acute inflammation; or (7) are in pregnancy.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: CASE_CONTROL
  • Time Perspectives: PROSPECTIVE

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
history of injuries
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement

Running-related injuries in recent 12 months/1 month and subsequent management or medical treatment. Running related injuries are defined as any pain and discomforts on muscles, skeletons, tendons, or ligaments that prevent or restrict participants from running for consecutive 7 days or 3 training sessions, irrespective of speed, distance, or training content.
Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement
running habits
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement

Running habits include running type, aims of running, running experience, participation in running class or club, training volume, longest training distance, average weekly running hours, average weekly running days, commonly running time at a day, footwear, participation in other sports, usage of insole or compressive garments, foot contact type, and registration of marathon competitions.
Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement
Level of Physical Activity
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement

Level of physical activity is measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, including 9 questions that classify activities into 4 levels.
Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement
Passion
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement

Passion Scale measures participants' passion for running by a 12-item questionnaire, and the items are subcategorized into obsessive passion and harmony passion.
Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement
Endurance Sports Self-Efficacy
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement

Endurance Sports Self-Efficacy Scale consists of 11 items, with each one rated from 0 to 100 points. The scale measures how confident participants are in doing actions or skills that are important for endurance performance. 0 represent 'cannot do at all' and 100 represent 'completely certain can do'.
Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement
Grit
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement

GRIT Scale measures participants' perseverance and passion by a 12-item questionnaire. Each item is rated from 1 to 5, as 1 means 'not at all like me' and 5 means 'very much like me'.
Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement
Sleep Quality
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement

Sleep quality is measured by Pittsburg Sleep Quality Scale, which consists of 9 items. The scale assess sleep time, sleep disturbance, time to fall asleep, daytime dysfunction due to insufficient sleep, sleep efficiency, overall sleep quality, usage of medication for sleep. Highest score is 21 points, and receiving over 5 points indicates poor sleep quality.
Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement
Chronotype
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement

Chronotype is measured by Horne and Ostberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, which consists of 19 items. The questionnaire quantifies participants' preferred activity hours and their self-perceived performance during those hours.
Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement
Muscle Strength
Time Frame: Baseline

Muscle strengths of hip abduction, hip clamshell, knee extension and knee flexion are measured by a hand-held dynamometer. The hip abduction and clamshell are performed in side-lying and knee extension and flexion are performed in sitting position. Participants are asked to resist against the dynamometer with their maximal efforts for 5 seconds for 3 times with 60-second rests between repetitions. Lever arms are measured with a tape measure.
Baseline
Navicular Drop
Time Frame: Baseline

Navicular drop is measured by navicular drop test. Participants sits on a chair with their feet comfortably position on the ground. The height of the navicular tubercle from ground is measured on bilateral sides. After participants stand up with weight evenly distributed between both feet, and height of the navicular tubercle is measured again. The test is repeated for 3 times.
Baseline
Running Kinematics
Time Frame: Baseline

Running kinematics are recorded by inertial measurement units and 2 smartphone. Inertial measurement units are placed on sacrum and bilateral tibial tuberosity. One smartphone is facing toward the side of treadmill and another one is right behind the participants, recording running videos from the sagittal and frontal views, respectively. Participants first run at a self-selected warm-up speed for 5 minutes with no recordings. After warm-up, participants run at the target speed for the marathon competition for 2 minutes. Video recordings starts at the beginning of the run and ends at the end of the run and inertial measurement units start recording at the 30th second and ends at the 90th second.
Baseline
Ultrasonography
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement

The ultrasonography is used to measure participants' thickness and cross-sectional area of Achilles tendon, flexor hallucis brevis, abductor hallucis, flexor digitorum brevis, and quadrate plantae in prone position and patella tendon in supine position.
Baseline, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month post-baseline measurement

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Taiwan University
Meetsweet Physical Therapy Clinic

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Hui-Ting Shih, PhD, Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
  • Study Director: Fu-Lien Wu, PhD, School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, National Taiwan University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 24, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 27, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 7, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 10, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 7, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • NYCU115200AE

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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