A 'running revolution' has seen a surge in Queenslanders needing surgery on their knees and hips at Mater Private Hospital Brisbane, according to a leading orthopaedic surgeon.
Mater surgeon Dr Nicola Ward said "unhappy knees and overworked joints" often led to a range of running-related injuries, including tendonitis or muscle injury, and more severe issues which sometimes required metal implants by surgical intervention on hips and knees.
Dr Ward treats about six young patients, aged from 30 to 55, every month at South Brisbane's Mater Private Hospital who have ignored the signs and symptoms of running-related injuries, with most needing surgery.
Australian data shows up to 70 per cent of recreational and competitive runners sustain overuse injuries during any 12-month period.[1]
Forty-two per cent of all running injuries are to the knee, with 17 per cent to the foot or ankle, 13 per cent to the lower leg and 11 per cent to the hip or pelvis.
Dr Ward said overtraining and poor running techniques are the most common causes of running injuries.
"What a lot of young runners don't realise is that when you are 65 years old, an injury might mean you are lining up for a knee replacement," Dr Ward said.
"I am currently seeing a lot of people over the age of 35 getting back into running – and they are encountering problems which could have been avoided.
"Reducing the distance, frequency and duration of your run can prevent injury," she said.
Due to increasing her mileage and intensity of running, Brisbane resident Brooke Davis, 52, sustained a "significant" running injury in December, which left her with a titanium implant in her hip.
Ms Davis was diagnosed with a stress fracture of her femoral neck, which is the narrow, connecting region of bone between the ball of the hip joint and the long part of the thigh bone.
"I had been getting into running over the last few years and I was progressing well, until I got injured quite recently," Ms Davis said.
"I increased the amount of running I was doing much too quickly.
"My nutrition wasn't great and because of the load I was putting on my feet, it was just too much for my body."
Dr Ward inserted a metal nail into the hollow centre of Ms Davis' thigh bone to stabilise and heal her fracture.
Women are more prone to ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries, which is a common knee injury involving a tear or sprain of a ligament connecting the thigh bone to the shin bone, Dr Ward explained.
"As we become more mature, the cartilage starts to wear and tear and can be accelerated by injury," she said.
"There is evidence that stretching after exercise can help prevent injury – which is something a lot of people forget to do."
Dr Ward said a rapid increase in load without adequate strength training or post-run routine and fueling can be an issue.
She said Ms Davis was able to walk a day after surgery and was confident she would one day achieve her goal of completing a half marathon.
Now, eight weeks after her one-hour surgery and weekly rehabilitation, Ms Davis, a forensic scenes of crime officer, already has her sights set on competing in a 14km running event in August.
"I had experienced quite a bit of pain and was shocked when Dr Ward told me one of my options was to have surgery to fix the fracture," she said.
"I didn't realise the extent of damage that had been done, especially at my age.
"But thanks to the care from Dr Ward and her team I am back on my feet a lot earlier than expected and doing what I Iove most – running!"
