anti-runners (Read 913 times)

I had to drop my kid off at a birthday party which was being held at a local fancy health club. While waiting I took the tour and listened to the sales pitch. While talking to the Member Services lady we talked about past gyms and clubs I have belonged to, and my running. I said how it was really working out for me (unlike gym or martial arts) because you can do it any time and any place, the flexibility has helped me stay with it to where I ran some HM's last year, etc. She said "that's great, but once you turn 45 you'll have to find something else." I laughed and asked why. She said running really messes up your knees. She mentioned "people" who have knee surgery at 45 and can't figure out why - hell-oo - it's because you're running 10 miles a day. Out of politeness I didn't take her on. Now I know her position makes her extremely biased, and she probably has a personal example that "proves" her prejudice. But it bugs me when people present this as if it is known fact (a less informed person might take it as such, coming from a "fitness professional"), and it is the runners who have been duped or are operating under misinformation that it is good for you. I was reading a self-help website promoting purposeful walking (pedestrianism?) as a means of increasing your daily exercise. All for it, but then there is a clever reference to "without being a slave to the gym, or grinding the cartilage off of your knees running." A local radio host who was watching the local marathon, which goes right by his residence, goes off on an (annual) diatribe against running, using the "pained expressions" on people's faces when they run as proof that it can't be good, and yet thousands of people put themselves through it in the name of fitness, at the cost of their future knees.

She said "that's great, but once you turn 45 you'll have to find something else." I laughed and asked why. She said running really messes up your knees.

She's probably married to the Kirby vacumn cleaner guy that invaded Bugs house the other day.

She's probably married to the Kirby vacumn cleaner guy that invaded Bugs house the other day.

Actually, there is no good scientific evidence that running injures healthy knees.

Like Trent says... no good data

I have a friend who is an ortho surgeon. He's not my ortho, but has offered me some advice in the past. He says its true that there is no research to support that running harms healthy knees... but if you already have knee problems, it can exacerbate the problem. However, if you have knee problems, most of the time you can do some PT and make them better. I have a knee cap tracking issue, and yeah, my knees hurt, but I do the exercises and it doesn't hurt as bad, and I've noticed that as I become a stronger runner, my knees feel better.

This knee thang is an awfully popular topic lately. Is there a vast anti-running-cuz-it'll-kill-your-knees conspiracy going on? Do they have cool black helicopters? But since there are a LOT of stupid people out there,

just don't let the stupid people fly the helicopters

just don't let the stupid people fly the helicopters

Ha!

Running downhill IS high impact relative to running uphill. But most of the impact is realized in your low back and quadriceps. Unless you use proper downhill running form (i.e., lean forward, don't overstride). But running downhill is not bad for your knee joints per se.

True, but hill repeats on a treadmill are less net overall impact. I agree with you completely on the downhill form issue, but I find it hard to do in the case of hill reps because I'm trying to recover from the hard uphill -- proper downhill form has me going faster than I want to go for recovery, and I inevitably find myself "putting the brakes on" and pounding. But this thread isn't really about hill repeats. It's about black helicopters being flown by stupid anti-knee idiots, and a goofy looking gorilla running through the park.