The Interventional Use of Water Treadmill Running During Long Periods of Injury

Abstract

The aim of this brief study was to establish the efficacy of waist depth water Aquatic treadmill (ATM) running during a 28-day injury period where normal land based training was not possible. Synchronized tri-axial accelerometers were used to identify running dynamics while expired air and heart rate were sampled on a breath-by-breath basis for physiological variable collection throughout a 15-minute sub-maximal constant speed trial performed preinjury, 28-days following initial injury (ATM training), and a further 10-days following a return to normal land based training. Water treadmill running altered spatio-temporal parameters that positively enhanced measures of running efficiency while reducing stress on the passive structures of the lower limbs. On cessation of ATM spatio-temporal parameters returned to normal while running efficiency remained greater than pre-injury values. As such, if water treadmill running does not hamper the rehabilitation process or negatively alter running technique it is a useful means of maintaining fitness following injury.