4. Discussion
tibial stress syndrome, ankle sprains, injuries
OVERUSE INJURIES, SIDE EFFECT
This is the first study that comparatively investigated the impact of trail running versus road running on neuromuscular performance parameters in healthy adults. We hypothesized that running on natural trails would lead to more pronounced improvements in static and dynamic balance, gait patterns, agility, and leg strength between pre- and post-testing compared to road running. This assumption was based on previous findings which have shown that the navigation of the body on varying surface densities, inclines and speeds evoked higher muscle activation and coordination as opposed to moving on more firm and flat terrain [We found no statistically significant differences in the rANOVA analysis between TRAIL and ROAD for static and dynamic balance measures. But a significant time-effect between pre-and posttest was calculated (Despite the close relationship between balance and gait performance in regards to fall- and injury-risk factors [Aerobic endurance testing showed the highest probability for a substantial worthwhile effect in favor of TRAIL (97%, very likely) together with a large Cohen’s d effect size (d = 0.95). Relative VOTo date, a lot of research regarding neuromuscular adaptations from running has focused on different types of footwear or foot strike patterns and related kinematic, metabolic, and biomechanical parameters of the lower limb, as well as running-related injuries [Running related injuries (RRI) of the lower extremities are a common negative side effect in runners [In the current study, 5 out of 33 people reported an injury during the 8-week intervention that prevented them from completing the training program. Affected body sites and type of injuries are all in line with the formerly reported common injury types and risk factors. Two participants from TRAIL developed reoccurring overuse injuries (i.e., knee and lower back) that had probably not been fully and appropriately cured. The other participants suffered from tibial stress syndrome (1 in TRAIL) and ankle sprains (1 in TRAIL; 1 in ROAD). The recorded amount and type of injuries in this study seem to reinforce the fact that previous injuries, little running experience, and an increase in training load within a relatively short amount of time may be risk factors for RRI. Meanwhile, as stated by Taunton et al. [Limitations to this study are the small group sizes and baseline differences between groups in VO