Is Running Sprinting Towards Osteoarthritis?

     Running has undisputable benefits to the cardiovascular system, but it also has well-known risks of causing damage to muscles, tendons, and bone joints if overdone. Consequently, the latter fact sparked a medical debate of whether running can aggravate the onset of osteoarthritis, which is “characterized by degeneration of articular cartilage.”

     In the medical journal Clinics in Sports Medicine, Dr. Stuart Willick reports on previous studies that relate running with osteoarthritis. According to the author, there had been three studies claiming affirmative relationship between this most common joint disease and running: researches lead by McDermott and Faye, Marti, and Cheng. However, the article also reports that there were preceding studies that have scrutinized the said researches, resulting to exposing their methodological flaws.

     Further studies showed strong evidence that it is not running but “age, prior joint injury, greater body mass index, and heavy manual labor [that] are associated with the development of osteoarthritis”. Nonetheless, extreme high-volume running is still a potential risk for acquiring joint diseases. Dr. Willick recommends, when running, it is safest to

1. use appropriate running shoes
2. run on soft surfaces
3. cross-train
4. correct running gait abnormalities
5. appropriately treat injuries
6. maintain an optimal body mass index and nutritional status
7. correct biomechanical deficits
8. maximize flexibility, strength, endurance and motor control

Sources:
Willick, Stuart E. “Running and Osteoarthritis.” Clinics in Sports Medicine 29.3 (2010): 417. Web. 12 November 2011.