Surgeons use Internet to seek data on running routines.

Byline: Health Files by Tim Christie The Register-Guard

Most runners, if they run long enough and hard enough, will get hurt.

Studies have found that two-thirds of running injuries are due to training mistakes, with excessive mileage the most common miscalculation.

Now orthopedic surgeons want to find out more about runners and their injuries. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is conducting an online survey on its Web site (www.aaos.org) through July 31.

The survey asks runners about their training programs, techniques, instruction and injury prevalence to determine the most common types of injuries.

"We want to talk directly to the running population to see what kind of injuries they're having," academy spokeswoman Claudette Yasell said.

The academy will then use the information to develop tips and guidelines for preventing running injuries, she said. The academy hopes to have its report out by Labor Day, Yasell said.

"The bottom line here is, can we get a handle on what it is that runners are doing to themselves that result in specific injuries," said Dr. Henry Goitz, chief of sports medicine at the Medical College of Ohio, who helped write the survey.

Running injuries are no stranger here in Eugene, aka Track Town U.S.A., home to such running legends as Bill Bowerman and Steve Prefontaine. Orthopedic surgeons here say most running injuries result when runners overdo it. The body needs time to recover from the stresses running places on it, they say.

Dr. Stan James of Eugene, a retired orthopedic surgeon, said the AAOS survey may help doctors better understand the mechanisms and specific causes of runners' injuries.

James is a renowned sports medicine doctor and wrote a chapter on running injuries for a sports medicine textbook. His research found that experienced runners are just as likely to be injured as beginning runners, both of whom make the same mistakes.

"The most common training errors are high mileage, high intensity and any sudden change or rapid transition in the program," he wrote.

Serious runners injured more

The human body "is an extremely adaptable mechanism," he wrote, but needs time to recover and adapt to the stresses placed on it.

James found that serious runners - those who do more than 20 miles a week - get hurt far more often than low-mileage runners.

James advises recreational runners to avoid strictly structured programs and instead "play off the body's feeling for a given day and tailor the workout accordingly."

The first piece of advice retired orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert Larson has for runners is to "moderate your training and gradually increase your amount of training and not do it all at once."

Larson was the University of Oregon team doctor for years and a founding member and past president of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Mix easy days with hard

Recreational runners tend to overtrain and put too much stress on their bodies, he said. They need to mix in easy days with hard days so their bodies can recover and adapt, he said.

Running writer and instructor Joe Henderson of Eugene agrees newbies as well as veterans make the same mistakes: running "too long, too fast and too often."

Henderson is a former editor of Runner's World and a longtime columnist for the magazine. He's also co-author, with podiatrist Dr. Joe Ellis, of the book "Running Injury-Free."

He preaches patience and moderation to new and veteran runners alike, and the importance of mixing easy days with the hard, advice that's hard for some runners to take.

" `Easy' and `rest' are four-letter words to ambitious or driven or compulsive runners," he said. "We're a motivated bunch."

In fact, Henderson said if a person is running for fitness and recreation, rather than for competition, "there's no reason to ever run real hard or long."

He falls back on the advice of the father of aerobic exercise, Dr. Kenneth Cooper, who said running two to three miles at a time, three to five times a week, is all that most people need for fitness.

Rest is especially important in the early stages of an injury, he said. Taking a day or two off may prevent having to take weeks or months off later on, he said.

It's a lesson Henderson learned the hard way, once having to quit running for a year because of a nagging injury.

"Having a serious injury is good for you. It wakes you up," he said. "When you have a year off, that gets your attention. It makes you appreciate running for its own sake."

RUNNERS' SURVEY

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is conducting an online survey to find more information about runners and their injuries. To participate in the survey, which runs through July 31, go to www.aaos.org and click on the icon that says, "On your mark, get set, take the 2003 AAOS Running Survey."

Tim Christie can be reached at 338-2572 or tchristie@ guardnet.com.

CAPTION(S):

THE HEALTH FILES ` `Easy' and `rest' are four-letter words to ambitious or driven or compulsive runners. We're a motivated bunch." JOE HENDERSON EUGENE RUNNING WRITER