Abstract
BACKGROUND
Road running is a growing sport. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of
sports-related dermatoses among road runners.
METHODS
Cross-sectional study of 76 road runners. Assessment was performed by means
of a questionnaire, interview, and clinical examination. The chi-square and
linear trend tests were used for analysis.
RESULTS
Most athletes were men (61%), aged 38±11 years, who ran mid- or
long-distance courses (60.5%) for 45 to 60 minutes (79%), for a total of
25-64 km (42.1% ) or more than 65 km (18.4%) per week. The most prevalent
injuries were blisters (50%), chafing (42.1%), calluses (34.2%),
onychomadesis (31.5%), tinea pedis (18.4%), onychocryptosis (14.5%), and
cheilitis simplex (14.5%). Among athletes running >64 km weekly, several
conditions were significantly more frequent: calluses (p<0.04), jogger's
nipple (p<0.004), cheilitis simplex (p<0.05), and tinea pedis
(p<0.004). There was a significant association between the weekly running
distance and the probability of skin lesions. Of the athletes in our sample,
57% trained before 10 a.m., 86% wore clothing and accessories for sun
protection, 62% wore sunscreen, and 19.7% experienced sunburn. Traumatic and
environmental dermatoses are common in practitioners of this outdoor sport,
and are influenced by the weekly running distance.
CONCLUSION
In this group of athletes, rashes, blisters, sunburn, and nail disorders
were recurrent complaints regardless of running distance. Calluses,
athlete's foot, chapped lips, and jogger's nipple predominated in
individuals who ran longer routes.
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