Does Recreational Running Increase Your Likelihood of Knee or Hip Arthritis? What does the research say?
People have strong opinions as to whether or not running is actually beneficial to our health. The phrase “Running is hard on your knees” is a favorite that we all have heard more than a few times (I heard it yesterday in fact). We know running has tons of global health benefits like reducing stress, decreasing depression, and weight loss, and that it is great for our heart, lungs, and brains, but what about for our joints?
Luckily there have been many research studies conducted on this topic since there are millions of interested runners out there. One study in particular, set out to analyze other studies and combine their findings to form a clear answer. These researchers reviewed the findings of 25 large studies (17 were selected after the review process) with 114,829 study participants between them all, to answer this question with some muscle.
What did this study find? Good news for recreational runners! In summary, both male and female recreational runners had LESS knee and hip arthritis incidence (3.5%) compared to people who were sedentary (10.2%). Not only did the running not lead to increased likelihood of arthritis, but instead it was found to decrease the risk!
If you’re interested, take a peek at this very thorough JOSPT article- it’s packed with information. One interesting points to note, was that people who were “high volume runners” (AKA people who ran more than 57 miles a week) did have increased incidence (13.3%) of knee and hip arthritis as compared to the sedentary group (10.2%).
The conclusion made by the authors is that “Running at the recreational level was associated with significantly lower odds of OA (osteoarthritis) compared with competitive runners or control individuals.” This may be great to keep in mind the next time you’re lacing up to hit the pavement or the treadmill.
source:
Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy
Published Online: May 31, 2017 Volume47 Issue 6 Pages 373-390