Running – is it bad for your knees?
Running gets a lot of bad press sometimes. Someone hears of a runner who has got sore knees, or someone has developed arthritis and running is blamed. What we don’t often know is the full story.
“Most studies show there isn’t any correlation between running and developing osteoarthritis. The biggest risk factor for developing osteoarthritis is age,” says Dr. Bég. “Think of your body like a car: The more miles you put on it, the more there’s a chance to damage it, there’s more wear and tear. The more miles you put on your joints, the more chance there is for degeneration,” Bég adds.
Arthritis is also genetic. It develops over time and usually occurs as we age. So there are a few other things that are going on here as well. Again, you’re probably not hearing the full story.
Like any sport or physical activity, the other muscles around the joints being used need to be strengthen equally to cope with the impact. Running is a high impact sport, we know this, so it makes sense that the other super important muscles that help stabilise the knee. Glutes (your butt), VMO (inside of your quad muscle), your feet, calves and hips all need attention so you can run injury free. This is a no brainier. If you want to create impact, you must ensure that your body is equip to handle the impact.
HOW CAN YOU DO THIS?
I’m so glad you asked. You find a strengthening program that involves training and strengthening all the muscles I mentioned above (plus a few more) to cope with the demand you want to dish out. You also have a structured running program which allows for adequate rest days to allow your body to adapt, and you also give yourself and your body adequate time to complete the task eg: run a marathon in 10 weeks versus run a marathon in 12 months. There’s a big difference here.
YOUR TERRAIN ALSO MAKES A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE:
Running on constant hard surfaces will also play a big role in how your body feels. It’s important to mix it up with some grass (oval) running and softer surfaces (maybe an athletics track) every now and again.
I WANT TO START RUNNING NOW!
Awesome and I would love to see you in our run club straight away. And you can join us! But the advice you will also hear from me is you need to do at least 1 strengthening session per week (Friday’s Functional Strength is what I recommend) and you must follow the advice I give in terms of rest days and lower kilometres weeks.
WHY?
Because I want you to be able to enjoy running for a really long time, like me! it’a just a great activity and it’s so easy, you can just throw on your runners and get out your door and you are running. Seriously – that easy. But, you must respect your body first and foremost.
HOW CAN I GET STARTED WITH RUN CLUB?
Come in for a free assessment so I can check out your form, your technique and how your body moves. This takes around 45 minutes then we can get you running. I want everyone to experience the joy of running, and if you follow us regularly, you will see sometimes we even finish running with beer and pizza. Yep, serious runners that have fun along the way 🙂
Call Janet 0427 167 288 to get your running career started – it’s never to late to join the club 🙂
https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/what-joint-docs-say-about-running/
