An evaluation of physical performance in collegiate athletes: A randomized controlled trial comparing backward and forward running

Background: Backward running (BR) and forward running (FR) activate distinct neuromuscular pathways and utilize differing biomechanical principles. Although FR is a well-established training modality, the potential advantages of BR for enhancing athletic performance and mitigating injury risk necessitate further exploration. Moreover, there exists a paucity of experimental data comparing these modalities in collegiate athlete populations. Purpose: This study sought to quantify the differential effects of BR intervention, FR intervention, and no intervention on agility, power, and speed performance in collegiate athletes. Methods: Thirty collegiate athletes (Aged 18-28 years) were randomly allocated to the BR group (n = 10), FR group (n = 10), and an absolute control (CON) group (n = 10). The BR and FR groups performed running sessions on a treadmill for matched time and intensity biweekly for eight weeks. All athletes were assessed for agility, speed, and power performance before and after the intervention. Results: Results revealed a significant main effect of time (p < 0.05) and significant group x time interactions (p <0.05) for all outcomes, mean difference data showed BR outperformed FR & CON in countermovement jump (CMJ) (p < 0.05). For the 10-m sprint performance, a between-group difference was identified. A post-hoc Bonferroni test showed that the BR group performed better than the CON group (p = 0.02) but was not statistically different from the FR group (p > 0.05). Conclusions: BR intervention led to greater gains in CMJ performance and improved 10-m sprint performance compared to the control group, with little improvement compared to the FR group based on the mean difference data.