Back In The Running

No. And the evidence actually points the other way.

Every runner has heard it. Usually from someone who doesn’t run. “You’ll ruin your knees.” “Bone on bone by the time you’re sixty.”

There’s plenty of scientific evidence that running does no harm to our joints, and in most cases it supports our bodies in being healthy — in both bone and joint health.

Cartilage isn’t a car tyre

The “wear and tear” idea assumes your joints are mechanical parts that grind down with use. They aren’t. Cartilage is living tissue, and like every other living tissue in your body it responds to load by adapting.

Load it sensibly and it stays healthy. Never load it at all and it doesn’t thank you for the rest — the same is true of bone, tendon and muscle.

This is why the language matters. “Wear and tear” tells you decline is inevitable and you’re powerless. “Load and adaptation” tells you what’s actually happening, and what you can do about it.

But my knee does hurt

Knees are the most commonly injured area in runners — that part is true. Ankles and hips come next.

But “my knee hurts” and “I am destroying my knee” are completely different statements. For most people, knee pain comes down to overdoing things a little and not allowing adequate rest and recovery. It’s a loading problem, and loading problems are fixable.

Pain is very rarely a measure of damage. It usually indicates a sensitive area, or a protective response by the body to get you to rest or seek help.

What about my scan?

This one causes a lot of unnecessary worry. Scans of people with no pain at all routinely show changes — the kind of findings that sound alarming written down. Those changes are extremely common as we age, and they correlate poorly with whether someone actually hurts.

A scan is one piece of information. It isn’t a verdict on your running.

What to do if your knee is complaining

• Look at the last four weeks. Mileage jump? Long run stretched? Rest day gone missing? That’s usually the answer.
• Reduce, don’t stop. For most people we can modify your running rather than halt it. Complete rest is occasionally needed, but usually only for a few days to a week.
• Build strength. A carefully set up strength and conditioning plan supports your running and reduces injury risk. It’s the single most underused tool most runners have.
• Give it 24 to 48 hours. Rest, see how it settles. If it hasn’t, get it looked at.

The runners I worry about aren’t the ones with sore knees. They’re the ones who stopped running because somebody frightened them out of it.

Run happy and injury free.