Bad News for Couch Potatoes

Every runner seems to have a horror story about knees, either involving themselves or someone they know. The belief that running ruins your joints is intuitive and commonly espoused. Why wouldn’t your knees want to punish you for all the pressure and pounding they receive during a work out?

New research suggests distrusting this intuition. Many athletes experience serious knee pain as they grow older. Former weight lifters, pro soccer and football players, all suffer high incidences of arthritis. Runners, on the other hand, actually have a lower incidence of arthritis in their knees than the average person. Another study that’s charted the condition of runners’ knees over several decades suggests that deterioration over time is largely overrated. Joints actually acclimate to regular routines (even those of marathon runners).

According to experts, the hazard lies in varying that routine. Knees become vulnerable when you decide to run longer distances, or hit the trail after a long hiatus. That caveat in mind, there’s one less excuse for staying on the couch.

New York Times: Can Running Actually Help Your Knees?

(Photo by sean dreilinger via Flickr/Creative Commons)