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Myth: Running on a treadmill puts less stress on your knees than running on asphalt or pavement. (Read 386 times)

TripleBock


    If you are talking about just the knees and treating each workout individually - I would have to disagree.  I never get done with a TM run and think that my knees hurt.  Running on pavement they hurt anytime I run > 2 hours on it.

     

    As far as repetitive stress - I am not sure ... I would think it a softer surface with built in flex on the deck.

     

    Either way, my goal now includes a lot more stress on the knees - To play racquetball 2x a week and volleyball 1 time a week. Along with running 6 times a week.

    I am fuller bodied than Dopplebock

    Hoban-Jay


      Not that I really care, but more out of curiosity. What am I missing here? Why is it a myth that running on a treadmill is less stressful on your knees than running on pavement?

       

      Of all the treadmills I've run on, I could feel the "give" or flex on the platform as my foot came down...So again, what am I missing here

       

       

      http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/top-9-fitness-myths-busted

       

      Excerpt:

       

      Fitness Myth No. 1: Running on a treadmill puts less stress on your knees than running on asphalt or pavement.

      "Running is a great workout, but it can impact the knees -- and since it's the force of your body weight on your joints that causes the stress, it's the same whether you're on a treadmill or on asphalt," says Todd Schlifstein, DO, a clinical instructor at New York University Medical Center's Rusk Institute."

       

      Treadmill is a softer surface than concrete and asphalt with some "give" to it as well...all of which equates to less stress on the knees and body.

      Trent


      Good Bad & The Monkey

        Myth: running puts stress on your knees.


        ultramarathon/triathlete

          Myth: running puts stress on your knees.

           

          I was going to comment on that too.  The current medical knowledge is that running is actually good for the knees (though no one I tell this to believes me).  A recent study (that I can't find now, lol) tracked runners, cyclists and swimmers.  Running was found to have the most positive impact on the body --the shock helps maintain bone density (or something like that).  Swimmers had the lowest of whatever it was they were measuring.

           

          Then again, that does not make the above quote a myth, just that the "stress" is not a negative but a positive.

           

          As for the treadmill, I too believe there is a lot of give.  You can see it, you can feel it. Also, running on cement is harder on your body than asphalt, so it stands to reason that running on the TM material would be the best for you.

           

          I will add that I can trace ALL of my running injuries back to increased treadmill mileage, however.  Seems like whenever I shift from more outdoor to more indoor running, I get injured.  No scientific test here, but it's consistent year after year and I never learn and am currently somewhat injured (adductor/flexor strain).   Running on the treadmill changes my gait.

          HTFU?  Why not!

          USATF Coach

          Empire Tri Club Coach
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          TripleBock


            I disagree - Running does stress the knees and muscles and other stuff in the body.  But some level of stress is good for the body.  I think where it gets bad is if it is over done or there is an underlying issue either pre-existing condition or form.

             

            As for me - When I ran huge mileage weeks or days or months - The little muscles around my back and core would tire our, but my big muscles couls push on to more mileage.  The weak little muscles left me in bad running form or allowed excessive stress to be put on my vertebra in my low back and I have a section that the doctors says looks good "If you are a 65 year old" and I am 44.

             

            Myth: running puts stress on your knees.

            I am fuller bodied than Dopplebock

            TripleBock


              Every year when I shift from TM running to outdoor running I get injured or at least fight shin / front of foot pain.

               

              I will add that I can trace ALL of my running injuries back to increased treadmill mileage, however.  Seems like whenever I shift from more outdoor to more indoor running, I get injured.  No scientific test here, but it's consistent year after year and I never learn and am currently somewhat injured (adductor/flexor strain).   Running on the treadmill changes my gait.

              I am fuller bodied than Dopplebock

              pedaling fool


                 

                Treadmill is a softer surface than concrete and asphalt with some "give" to it as well...all of which equates to less stress on the knees and body.

                I agree, but curious why they would call it a myth? Here's another article on it...still don't get it  http://www.chicagonow.com/katalin-fitness-health-driven/2012/03/does-running-on-a-treadmil-place-less-stress-on-your-knees-than-the-pavement/

                 

                 

                Excerpt:

                 

                "I have to admit that this does sound like a truthful statement.  But if you think about the physics behind force which is mass x acceleration, you can see how this is a myth.  The amount of force on the joints (the knees and ankles in particular)  is the same whether you are running on a treadmill or the pavement.  Your mass does not change from one surface to the other and in so many cases, people actually have the ability to run faster on a treadmill than the pavement."

                 

                Reminds me of a saying: It's not the fall that kills you; it's the sudden stop.

                 

                And for the record, I also believe that running is good for the knees as long as you do a sensible build up and not try and do something like couch potato to marathon in 8 weeks.


                Why is it sideways?

                  Excerpt:

                   

                  "I have to admit that this does sound like a truthful statement.  But if you think about the physics behind force which is mass x acceleration, you can see how this is a myth.  The amount of force on the joints (the knees and ankles in particular)  is the same whether you are running on a treadmill or the pavement.  Your mass does not change from one surface to the other and in so many cases, people actually have the ability to run faster on a treadmill than the pavement."

                   

                  Sure, your mass doesn't change, but of course the force changes on a softer surface, as does the acceleration; that's why it's intuitive to think that the treadmill would have lower impact forces.

                   

                  Thinking about physics isn't the same as thinking correctly about physics. My students prove this to be true every day (and their teacher proves it occasionally, too.)

                   

                  This article is really dumb and should never be linked again.


                  CT JEFF

                    http://www.easyreadernews.com/29411/hermosa-tosh-marathon/

                     

                     

                    But of course there are no treadmill races. 

                     

                     

                     

                    Similar topic: indoor marathon

                    http://www.sneaa.org/arena-attack-race-series/arena-attack-xl-center/

                    RUN SAFE.     Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!

                     


                    Feeling the growl again

                      Not that I really care, but more out of curiosity. What am I missing here? Why is it a myth that running on a treadmill is less stressful on your knees than running on pavement?

                       

                      Of all the treadmills I've run on, I could feel the "give" or flex on the platform as my foot came down...So again, what am I missing here

                       

                       

                      http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/top-9-fitness-myths-busted

                       

                      Excerpt:

                       

                      Fitness Myth No. 1: Running on a treadmill puts less stress on your knees than running on asphalt or pavement.

                      "Running is a great workout, but it can impact the knees -- and since it's the force of your body weight on your joints that causes the stress, it's the same whether you're on a treadmill or on asphalt," says Todd Schlifstein, DO, a clinical instructor at New York University Medical Center's Rusk Institute."

                      Some D.O. apparently slept through physics.  By his reasoning, simply STANDING and holding up your body weight causes the same stress on the joints.

                       

                      Force = mass X acceleration.  Yes, mass is a constant here.  But acceleration is not.  Acceleration can have a positive value, or negative (deceleration).  When you land while running, you decelerate as your body comes back to earth.  If it is a hard surface, the deceleration is very rapid.  If the surface is flexible or cushioned, the effect is that the magnitude of the deceleration is reduced because the impact is spread out over a greater period of time.  So a lower magnitude of deceleration means lower force.

                      "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                       

                      I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                       

                      duckman


                      The Irreverent Reverend

                        I will add that I can trace ALL of my running injuries back to increased treadmill mileage, however.  Seems like whenever I shift from more outdoor to more indoor running, I get injured.  No scientific test here, but it's consistent year after year and I never learn and am currently somewhat injured (adductor/flexor strain).   Running on the treadmill changes my gait.

                         

                        Yup. My unscientific anecdote: I'm dealing with some shin pain right now, after a treadmill run. And I felt the same after a treadmill run earlier in the week. I have increased my treadmill mileage over the past month. I haven't felt this pain after running outdoors, however, including yesterday's nine miler or Wednesday's 10K race, or after indoor track workouts.

                        Husband. Father of three. Lutheran pastor. National Guardsman. Runner. Political junkie. Baseball fan.

                        Hoban-Jay


                           


                           

                          I will add that I can trace ALL of my running injuries back to increased treadmill mileage, however.  Seems like whenever I shift from more outdoor to more indoor running, I get injured.  No scientific test here, but it's consistent year after year and I never learn and am currently somewhat injured (adductor/flexor strain).   Running on the treadmill changes my gait.

                           

                          I would imagine if you did most of your running on a treadmill, then started increasing your outdoor mileage, you'd encounter injuries then too.   Or if you ran mostly flat surfaces then started running lots and lots of hills...up or down...or both...you'g begin to have more and more injuries.

                          sport jester


                          Biomimeticist

                            Of course there's a difference and the impact to the knees is determined by the incline level of the machine. The higher the incline levels, the more stress you're putting on your all joints in your lower limbs, not just your knees.

                             

                            The advantages of a giving belt are negated with increased torque loads to the rest of your body, so unless you're willing to adapt your training techniques to actually use the treadmill as a training tool, then your knee stress argument is a complete wash...

                            Experts said the world is flat

                            Experts said that man would never fly

                            Experts said we'd never go to the moon

                             

                            Name me one of those "experts"...

                             

                            History never remembers the name of experts; just the innovators who had the guts to challenge and prove the "experts" wrong


                            CT JEFF

                              Of course there's a difference and the impact to the knees is determined by the incline level of the machine. The higher the incline levels, the more stress you're putting on your all joints in your lower limbs, not just your knees.

                               

                              The advantages of a giving belt are negated with increased torque loads to the rest of your body, so unless you're willing to adapt your training techniques to actually use the treadmill as a training tool, then your knee stress argument is a complete wash...

                               

                              I believe a higher incline would be a lower impact on your knees. I know when Im going DOWN a steep hill, I feel it in my knee more than when Im climbing and my quads and glutes are burning.

                              RUN SAFE.     Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!

                               

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