Keep On Running?

Runners are often sternly warned they will damage their knees. Short-term knee injuries can be relatively common. These are, however, generally consequences of poor running technique; wearing the wrong footwear and/or increasing the amount and intensity of this activity too quickly. What about chronic joint pain (osteoarthritis) in the knees and hips? Osteoarthritis is actually less common in recreational and competitive runners, than in non-running counterparts. A meta-analysis of 25 studies,with a total of circa 115,000 subjects, showed running to actually protect the knees and hips as the individual ages (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/dec/02/is-it-true-that-running-destroys-your-knees). The consequent 'take home' messages are to a) be sensible in your running and your footwear and b) keep on running! Employing myths and half-truths, to dissuade folk from running isn't sensible.