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    An Investigation Into the Measurement of Injury Severity in Running‐Related Injury Research: A Scoping Review


    Lacey, Aisling, Whyte, Enda, Burke, Aoife, O'Connor, Siobhán, Dillon, Sarah and Moran, Kieran (2024) An Investigation Into the Measurement of Injury Severity in Running‐Related Injury Research: A Scoping Review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 34 (8). pp. 1-13. ISSN 0905-7188

    Abstract

    Understanding injury severity is essential to inform injury prevention practice. The aims of this scoping review were to investigate how running‐related injury (RRI) severity is measured, compare how it differs across studies, and examine whether it influences study outcomes (i.e., injury rates and risk factor identification). This scoping review was prospectively registered with Open Science Framework. A systematic electronic search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscuss, MEDLINE, and Web of Science databases. Included studies were published in English between January 1980 and December 2023, investigated RRIs in adult running populations, and included a measure of injury severity. Results were extracted and collated. Sixty‐six studies were included. Two predominant primary criteria are used to define injury severity: the extent of the effect on running and/or the extent of the physical description. When secondary definition criteria are considered, 13 variations of injury severity measurement are used. Two approaches are used to grade injury severity: a categorization approach or a continuous numerical scale. Overall, the measurement of RRI severity is relatively inconsistent across studies. Less than half of studies report incidence rates per level of injury severity, while none report specific risk factors across levels, making it difficult to determine if the approach to measuring injury severity influences these study outcomes. This lack of information is possibly contributing to inconsistent rates of RRIs reported, and the lack of clarity on risk factors.
    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: injury severity; injury surveillance; running-related injuries;
    Academic Unit: Assisting Living & Learning,ALL institute
    Faculty of Science and Engineering > Sports Science and Nutrition
    Item ID: 21240
    Identification Number: 10.1111/sms.14704
    Depositing User: Kieran Moran
    Date Deposited: 24 Feb 2026 16:50
    Journal or Publication Title: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
    Publisher: Wiley
    Refereed: Yes
    Related URLs:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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