It is with great pleasure to announce that together with our Australian collaborators, Adam Hulme and Caroline Finch, RUNSAFE is presenting a new distance running injury systems-based model.

2017.03.06 | Rasmus Østergaard Nielsen

The purpose of that work, which is based on the Systems Theoretic Accident Mapping and Processes (STAMP) model, was to outline why an ecological approach should now be considered alongside traditional epidemiologic practice for better understanding the development and prevention of running-related injury.

Why visualize the distance running system?

In light of its potential to visualize the complete distance running system, we (Adam Hulme in particular) developed a model to identify a plethora of different organizations, persons, health-care professionals, commercial manufacturers (to name a few), who, in some way, have the potential to affect runners’ sports participatory-related behavior.  Ultimately, systematic determinants in the system might, via a number of mediating pathways, lead runners to increase their running load and/or decrease their load tolerance. If guidelines, recommendations, equipment, and legislations across different levels are manipulated for the better, then runners’ behavior towards their training regime might also change for the better (i.e. risk averse).

A Danish model is on its way

The existing systems model has been developed from an Australian perspective. Currently, Daniel Ramskov and Rasmus Nielsen are adapting it to a Danish context. Hopefully, we are able to present a draft of this model in the May-issue of “Dansk Sportsmedicin”.

Viewpoints on causality

Alongside the visualization of the distance running system, the article contains a section with the purpose to describe and discuss the counterfactual definition of causation as it applies to both public health and running-related injury research.

View article?

In case interested, you are able to read an “in press”-version of the manuscript here

The article will be published in final form in June 2017 in a special issues of Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science.