Effects of running on knees and bone health (Read 1219 times)

Besides, I've seen hundreds of joggers and never a happy one. So if their agonized expression is the same as the pain experienced by their joints, small wonder hips and knees give out at a young age. Jogging is frequently a disaster waiting to happen, as it involves intense pressure, particularly on the knees. ~~~~~~~~~~ Guess he's never seen any of us blissfully Zen'd-out. Granted, many of my runs aren't so pleasant, but I don't think I look like I'm in agony most of the time. I'm no masochist--I wouldn't keep doing anything that's truly excruciating. And there's no form of exercise that isn't somewhat uncomfortable at times--otherwise there would be no reason for people to quit a fitness program. Perhaps he is only seeing patients with serious issues because those are the ones coming in to his practice for treatment. Squeaky wheel getting the grease, and all. How is he so certain that there wouldn't be MORE health issues if fewer Baby Boomers embraced jogging? Besides, by his logic we women should stop having babies. Childbirth is painful and does a lot of damage to a woman's body (my bladder will never be the same and I have an 8" scar on my lower abdomen from my son's surigical birth). I knew the risks going into it (though I did have my tubes tied a few years after his birth, LOL...fool me once, shame on you...ha!). One has to wonder what this guy looks like? DH had a doctor at one point who chastised him for his weight and cholesterol/triglycerides and prescribed exercise and weight loss--meanwhile this physician didn't practice what he preached in any evident fashion. Perhaps the author of the article is jealous of fit runners and figures if he can't (won't) join them, then he might as well beat them by belittling their efforts. k

Boomeritis: that a lot of people are now living longer and there are more knees being replaced does NOT mean that the activities that led to their living longer caused the knee damage. This is pure speculation based on anecdote. The knee damage may be present in everybody and now enough people are living long enough to make it evident. This is classic confounding. While anecdote may be the first step in good hypothesis generation, it may also be hopelessly confounded by bias and other unmeasured variables. The only way to test whether this observation is valid is in a controlled study. In this case, a case controlled design with 1-n controls per case would seem appropriate. Until this is done, keep running. Low cal: Science in mice has shown this. Doing this study in humans is probably not ethical and has not been done to my knowledge. I personally eat 1200-1500 kcal/day base when trying to keep my weight down during running season. I spike the calories to match miles when running long weeks, but no more than necessary. I love food, am a big eater and a heck of a gormand, but I don't feel like I am missing out on life when I am keeping my cals low. I eat the same variety, just in smaller portions. But then again, my own experience is just a single anecdote.

I agree completely with Kirsten about the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The style of the article is more like an editorial, and as such, it should be taken with a grain of salt. It's short on statistics (although there were some), and heavy on anecdotes: "One of my patients, at 50 years old, has been running several kilometers every day for years... she's no longer able to run even a hundred yards a day" This is misleading since it could be two years, or could be 30. The fact that he didn't provide an approximate number of years leads me to believe it's closer to two. As for seeing "hundreds of joggers and never a happy one", all I know is that when my club goes for the weekly tempo run, we all look happy as can be. Maybe he'll find more happy runners outside of the clinical setting?

Dose the doctor really expect to see a jogger in his office without problems? I don't think so. So his statement that he has never seen a happy jogger maybe true, but not representitive of joggers ( runners) in general. A meaningless article.

What do you get when you have 10 doctors in a room?? 14 opinions Dr. W. Gifford-Jones is the pen name of Ken Walker, MD. He's a weasel.

Dose the doctor really expect to see a jogger in his office without problems? I don't think so. So his statement that he has never seen a happy jogger maybe true, but not representitive of joggers ( runners) in general. A meaningless article.

Honestly, other than the occasional physical, who goes to the doctor just to visit? You go because you have A PROBLEM!!! So yes, of course the joggers are injured when he sees them. So are the construction workers with the back pain, the receptionist with carpal tunnel, the hockey player with the broken teeth & nose. What a dumbass this guy is!

Does anyone have any substantive information or can cite any studies on the long-term effects of running?

Here are a couple of article I use in my practice to refute the idea that running is “bad for your knees!” http://intmedweb.wfubmc.edu/grand_rounds/1998/osteoart.html#Is%20Running%20Associated%20with%20Degenerative%20Joint%20Disease? Check out the above link and “click” on the question “Is Running Associated with Degererative Joint Disease?” These may help also: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/513027 http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/121/7/502