Is Running Good or Bad for Your Knees?

Runners, you may not actually be pounding your joints to a pulp every time you hit the pavement.

Running has a reputation for causing wear and tear on knees over time, leading to joint pain, arthritis or other injuries. But a recent small study found that 30 minutes of running actually lowered inflammation in runners’ knee joints, leading many to question whether running really does increase a person’s risk for injuries—or if it helps prevent them.

In the report, published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers at Brigham Young University brought 15 healthy runners ages 18 to 35 into a lab where they took samples of their blood and knee joint fluid before and after they ran for 30 minutes on a treadmill. They also assessed the same samples when they were sedentary.

The researchers expected to find an increase in molecules that spur inflammation in people’s knee fluid after they ran, but they didn’t. Instead, they found that pro-inflammatory markers actually decreased after a 30-minute run. The scientists ended up only getting complete information from six of the people in the study, but they saw the same results in all of those people.

“It was surprising,” says study author Matt Seeley, an associate professor of exercise science at BYU. “We expected the molecules to increase, but it was the opposite.” Seeley stresses that the report is a pilot study, and that due to the small number of people, there’s not a lot that can be inferred from the findings. The researchers also only looked at inflammation right after people ran, rather than a week or month later. But Seeley says his team plans to do the same study in more people in the future.

“I think, and hope, the data shows that running is good for your joints,” Seeley adds. “Although the results are limited, they are also unexpected and could be important.”

“We’re not cars,” Paul Williams, lead author of that stud, told GQ. “The more you run your car, you’re wearing out the bearings. The difference between a car and a person is it appears that when you’re doing that pounding and such, the body is actually putting more resources into your joints.”

To continue reading the original article please click here: https://www.health.com/syndication/is-running-bad-for-your-knees