Foot Kinematics Differ Between Runners With and Without a History of Navicular Stress Fractures

Background:A navicular stress fracture (NSF) is a common and high-risk injury in distance runners. It is not clear whether there are differences in foot structure and function between runners who have and those who have not sustained an NSF.Purpose/Hypothesis:This study compared foot structure, range of motion, and biomechanics between runners with a history of unilateral NSFs and runners who had never sustained this injury. The hypothesis was that runners with a history of NSFs will have less dorsiflexion and subtalar range of motion in a clinical examination and greater rearfoot eversion and higher eversion velocity while running than either the noninvolved feet or healthy controls.Study Design:Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:Seven runners who sustained an NSF were matched with 7 controls without this injury history. Participants underwent a clinical orthopaedic examination, followed by a 3-dimensional running gait analysis. Clinical examination variables, foot kinematics, and ground...