Have you ever stopped to think about what goes into taking a single step? What about the impact of that step? These are two questions that are at the core of a two-year study being done to better understand performance training and the health impacts on young athletes.
“The title of the study is examining the influence of age, running volume, running mechanics, and then diet on measures of musculoskeletal health and running performance,” said Derek Ferley, PhD, Avera Sports Science Director.
The study began in 2024 and is made up of high school kids ranging in age from 13 to 18. There are testing periods where the athletes are asked to return and go through a battery of tests to complete after the spring track season and the fall cross-country season.
“We provide a diet log during the season and off season. We do a DXA scan for our bone density, and the VO2 Max test along with the running analysis,” said Ellie Maddox, one of the study participants.
“We really want to see what type of an influence or impact your age and how much you run have on your bone health, your bone density. If you're not consuming adequate calories or vitamin D or iron, that could all have ramifications for your bone health,” said Ferley.
“I’m definitely curious to see and learn more about myself, but also as South Dakota runners as a whole, and seeing where we're at compared to everyone else,” said Maddox.
“The VO2 Max is definitely daunting, because you really get pushed to your limit,” said Maddox.
As the name implies, it's a maximum effort test consisting of five to seven different stages and each stage lasting about two minutes long. Every time the speed is increased, so toward the end stage of the test, you're going to be giving it a full-on effort. Calculating effort is one aspect, but there's also an opportunity for more science to be done.
"in between each stage, there's a 30-second pause during which time I get a blood drop and I can measure your blood lactate. That gives me a picture of what's called the lactate threshold, which is a key metric in terms of distance running performance,” said Ferley.
The VO2 Max is paired with another performance test of a 3D running analysis using a special treadmill and camera system that can calculate stride, gait and force of each foot strike. Participants are fitted with motion sensors to track their movements and provide quantifiable metrics for the research.
"We want to see, are there particular measures that jump out or that certain individuals demonstrate that maybe are correlated with particular injuries, say shin splints or knee pain or hip pain?” said Ferley.
Next is a DXA scan to get a bone density reading on participants hips and spine. The scans done for this research study are a little different than what typically would be done clinically in this age range. Athletes, when they're training, have specific needs and also have specific injuries that could happen to the skeleton during their training and into their sport season.
"So that really is important for us to understand so that when something goes wrong with that process, we know how to reverse that or fix that or help with that. So I'm very excited to be involved," said Leah Prestbo, MD, Avera family medicine physician and bone densitometrist. Information gained from studies like this one helps give physicians and trainers strong recommendations about what will help and what will not help as far as bone development.
"All of this base research really goes into helping build scientific information in general so that that eventually will enrich our clinical ability to help people and this is just amazing,” said Dr. Prestbo.
“I think it's definitely helped me understand the importance of a diet and also our bone density, all the little different factors that go into running. I really think the VO2 max definitely has helped just even seeing how I've done and becoming a better runner through the different times I've taken it and that I've been able to run farther or faster and just those little things that have boosted my confidence in myself,” said Maddox.
“We're just combining all these different tests to get a really complete picture on not just the overall, how does the athlete perform on the cross-country course or on the track, but also just generally speaking what's their overall health like,” said Ferley.
The two-year study will conclude after the 2025 fall cross country season The data will then be analyzed and hopefully provide researchers and trainers alike with a new perspective on best practices for training and fueling young athletes.
Learn more about the Avera Human Performance Center.
