Will Strenuous Exercise Cause Arthritis?

I have been running now for about five years. Before that time, I had never run more than 2 miles at a time. Back in my high school track days, I was a sprinter. I never considered myself a long distance runner. This morning I ran 14 miles with one of my dogs, Avie. It was just a regular training run. I run about three times a week and bike one or two other days. I usually run about 23 to 28 miles a week. I’ve run quite a few road races including a few marathons and half-marathons and a lot of 5k’s and 10k’s.

Here I am with Avie running on one of our trails.

I am not the best runner around, but I have placed in my age group in quite a few races. I simply can’t say enough about how running has changed my life. It is such a rewarding feeling to know I am 48 years old and in the best shape of my life! When I was in my teens and twenties, running fourteen miles would have been a complete impossibility. It is a GREAT feeling!

Will Exercise "Ruin" Your Knees?

Along the way, I have been asked by friends, family and co-workers if I am worried about “ruining” my knees for later life. Their claims are that I will surely get arthritis later in life because of all these miles. I have done much reading on this subject. I needed to know if they were correct!

I have come across some studies specific to this subject. There are also many meta-analysis studies related to this topic. (Meta-analysis research is done by analyzing other research already done, usually on related topics, which leads to conclusions on the new topic being studied.) In all of my reading, I have not come across one study which suggested running or any other form of exercise would lead to joint problems later in life. In fact, there are a few studies which concluded impact exercises actually protect the joints from arthritis later in life. However, the majority of the studies indicate strenuous exercise has no direct relationship, positive or negative, on future arthritis problems. It seems genetics is the true trump card for being affected by arthritis.

Great News!

This is great news! The benefits of strenuous exercise are so numerous! I always speculated that those people worried about my knees, were simply looking for an excuse not to exercise themselves. So get yourself out there and start enjoying the benefits of hard workouts! But start out slow! You will injure your body in some way if you do too much too soon! Depending upon your age, it could very well take you a year or two to work up to a very high level of aerobic fitness. But is so very worth it!

And don’t forget, the joints need plenty of glucosamine when you engage in vigorous exercise! 1500 mg of glucosamine daily will ensure your joints will have the building blocks to regenerate healthy, protective cartilage!