LONG-DISTANCE runners are three times more likely than triathletes (pictured) - who run, swim and cycle - to injure their legs, a study here has found. --ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
LONG-DISTANCE runners are three times more likely than triathletes - who run, swim and cycle - to injure their legs, a study here has found.
This is probably because long-distance runners focus on just running and chalk up much higher 'mileage' each week than triathletes, said the study's author, Dr Kevin Lee, a consultant with the National University Hospital's division of adult reconstructive surgery.
This theory is backed up by another finding of the study showing that those who ran more than 10km per week were almost two times more likely to suffer leg injuries than those who ran less than that distance.
It did not matter how long the runner spent warming up, how often he ran, or how many years he had been running regularly.
The study surveyed 509 members of 24 running clubs and associations here, who ran at least 5km a week for at least five years.
They were aged between 15 and 65, and most of them were men.
