Injury risk and running habits in parents: Does stroller use make a difference?

Running with a stroller allows parents to stay physically active while looking after their children. However, the impact of stroller running on overuse injury risk among parents of young children is not well understood. We hypothesize that stroller runners may experience fewer injuries than non-stroller runners, due to differences in running mechanics and impact load as informed by prior biomechanical literature. This study seeks to characterize running habits and injury patterns in parent runners, examining whether stroller use affects running-related injury incidence and mileage. Parent runners were recruited in this cross-sectional study via email and social media platforms to complete a web-based survey, self-reporting data on demographics, weekly running volume, and injury history. Two groups were identified in this study: stroller (n = 200; parents who chose to run with a stroller) and control (n = 55; parents who chose not to run with a stroller). Statistical analyses were conducted to compare running mileage and injury incidence in the first three years of parenting between groups. The final analytic sample for injury analyses comprised 196 participants in the stroller group and 53 in the control. Overuse injuries were more prevalent among non-stroller runners (30%) than in stroller runners (19%), with the stroller group experiencing a lower injury rate (0.19 per 1,000 miles) compared to the control (0.42 injuries per 1,000 miles). Injury type and distribution were similar between groups. There was a notably higher incidence of plantar fasciitis reported among both stroller and non-stroller runners. Stroller running appears to be a generally safe and accessible form of exercise for parent runners, with lower injury incidence observed compared to non-stroller runners. Findings in this study underscore that running with a stroller may support sustained physical activity during early parenthood.