March 22, 2023 – Long-distance runners are sometimes warned that they’re wearing out their joints. But running distance, frequency and speed are usually not related to an increased risk of osteoarthritis, latest research shows.
Osteoarthritis is brought on by the breakdown of cartilage in joints and is essentially the most common sort of arthritis. 32.5 million adults in the US According to the CDC, they suffer from osteoarthritis.
It was generally thought that running could increase the chance of osteoarthritis since it places more stress on joints than walking or standing, said Grace Hsiao-Wei Lo, MD, assistant professor of immunology, allergy and rheumatology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who was not involved within the work. Research on this area has produced mixed results: A 2017 evaluation of several studies found that Competitive athletes had higher rates of arthritis than recreational runners, while one other study conducted by Lo found runners had no increased risk of knee osteoarthritis in comparison with non-runners. A 2018 study showed that marathon runners fewer cases of arthritis than the whole population.
In this latest study, researchers surveyed 3,804 runners who participated within the 2019 or 2021 Chicago Marathon about their running history, average mileage per week, and average running pace. The survey also asked about known risk aspects for osteoarthritis, including weight, family history of arthritis, and former injuries to the knee or hip that prevented running.
The runners were on average about 44 years old and ran about 28 miles per week. The largest proportion of respondents had accomplished between two and five marathons (37.3%), about 21% of respondents had accomplished six to 10 marathons, and 17% were running their first marathon. Study participants had a median of 15 years of running experience, 1,892 reported a previous hip or knee injury, and 413 had undergone knee or hip surgery. Overall, 36.4% reported hip or knee pain previously yr, and seven.3% had been diagnosed with arthritis.
The researchers found that there was no association between the chance of osteoarthritis and weekly mileage, variety of marathons run, or running pace. Respondents who had undergone knee or hip surgery or had a previous hip or knee injury that prevented them from running were most probably to have arthritis. Family history of arthritis, higher body mass index (BMI), and older age were also related to an increased risk of the condition.
The news ought to be encouraging for runners, said Dr. Matthew Hartwell, an orthopedic surgeon on the University of California, San Francisco, who led the study. If someone doesn't have injuries or surgeries that keep them from running, “they can still keep running,” he said. “There doesn't necessarily have to be this dose-response relationship where the more you run, the more damage you do to your knee or hip.”
However, 24.2% of runners said their doctor had advised them to cut back their running mileage or stop running altogether. Most runners (94.2%) said they planned to run one other marathon.
“The results of this study are consistent with the experiences of many long-time runners and the observations of sports medicine specialists that osteoarthritis is not an inevitable consequence of long-distance running,” said Brett Toresdahl, MD, a sports medicine specialist on the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City who was not involved within the study.
Still, he stressed that more research is required to know whether running increases the chance of osteoarthritis. The study participants were current marathon runners, he said, so it's likely they’ve healthy joints that may run longer distances.
“If there is a subgroup of people whose joints are negatively affected by running, they probably wouldn't sign up for a marathon,” he said in an email interview. Lo said comparing those marathon runners to a gaggle that doesn't run would also reveal whether running may be harmful to joints.
While the research doesn’t answer the query of whether running could cause osteoarthritis, it does show that long-term research is required on how running affects joints and overall health over time.
“It may take some time for the medical community to move beyond saying, 'If it hurts, don't do it,' and reflexively discouraging intense exercise when someone starts to develop osteoarthritis,” Toresdahl said.