The most common myth you hear out in the world about knee osteoarthritis is that running and jogging is what does you in. “It’s all the shock,” doctors say. “It’s just too much wear and tear,” friends say. Did you know that this conventional wisdom is actually wrong?
We recently posted a link on our Upright Health Facebook Page to an article in Proto Magazine, Osteoarthritis: Why Joints Fail, that discusses the modern research being done that shows that, contrary to popular belief, it’s not the running that’s doing you in.
Several studies have found that a lifetime of running—a perfect test for the “wear and tear” theory of osteoarthritis—doesn’t increase risk for the condition. In the most recent, published in 2008, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine began tracking the health of 45 long-distance runners (average age: 58) in 1984. Nearly 20 years later, X-rays showed their joints were unaffected. “We can find no evidence whatsoever that there’s an increase in knee destruction in people who run for thousands and thousands of miles,” says study co-author James Fries, professor emeritus of immunology and rheumatology.
The rest of the article talks about various different avenues that are under investigation for the biochemical causes of osteoarthritis if you’d like to read it, but the big takeaway is this: running is not the villain. If you find running to be tough on your joints, don’t blame the activity itself.
As someone who used to be unable to walk down stairs without sharp pinching pain in my knee, let me tell you this: figure out what your body is trying to tell you and then address the problem carefully and logically!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it! Information found on this website is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for consultation with a trained professional.
JOIN US ON THE INTERNET
