Can You Keep Running With Bad Knees?

Picture by richseow from Flickr

I often get this question from my patients. Will running wear out my knees? And my answer to them is a definite no. Not if they don't have a preexisting knee condition.

It's been proven beyond reasonable doubt that running does not wear out your knees. Numerous studies found no evidence that runners were more likely to develop knee osteoarthritis while comparing groups of runners versus non runners.

In fact, runners seem less likely to develop knee problems due to the reduced weight and the ability of articular cartilage to get stronger due to the running (Williams, 2013).

No this is without doubt good news for runners without any knee problems.

What if the runner already have a knee osteoarthritis, where the natural shock absorption between the knees have worn out? If you keep running will you hasten the progression of the osteoarthritis?

Just because running doesn't wear out your knees and/ or cause osteoarthritis, that doesn't mean you're immune to it.

Personally I think that logic suggests that if the knee joint is already compromised, it is likely that the stresses that result from running could possibly worsen the wear and tear despite little evidence on the topic so far.

Hence, this newly published study which studied almost 5,000 subjects for nearly ten years is worth a read. In that group, there were 1,203 people over 50 years old who had osteoarthritis in at least one knee. 138 of these 1,203 people happened to be runners throughout the study period.

The subjects went through many diagnostic tests, including x-rays to find out how severe their knee osteoarthritis was. These tests were repeated four years later. Those who ran during this period of time did not have a faster progression of symptoms  than those who didn't run. There was little evidence to suggest that running was harmful in this study group.

This was contrary to what the authors expected. Running was not associated with worsening knee pain nor did their x-rays showed any worsening. In fact, the authors suggested that the runners had more improvement in knee pain compared to the non runners, suggesting that there may be a benefit to running from a knee health perspective in people who have knee osteoarthritis.

While comparing x-rays for "joint space narrowing", which indicates that the bones are getting closer together because the cartilage is disappearing, 23.6 percent of the non runners got worse in the study period, compared to 19.5 percent of the runners.

39.1 percent of the non runners had improvements in the knee pain compared to 50 percent of the runners. After adjusting for age, BMI etc, the runners were 70 percent more likely to see improvement in their symptoms.

Now before all you runners and non runners with osteoarthritis get too happy and carried away and start running like there's no tomorrow, bear in mind that there isn't much information as to how much distance the runners covered or any other differences in the running versus the non running group.

Please note that the runners were not told to go forth and run as much as they wanted. They were not given any specific instructions at all about running. The runners were presumably following their own urges to run and common sense plus advice from their doctors/ physiotherapists.

There was no mention whether they ran less frequently or shorter distances than they were used to. Did they have to stop and walk if their knees started hurting while running?

I've seen many patients with reduced and compromised mobility due to an arthritic knee and hence would hesitate to suggest they start running especially if they were not already runners to begin with.

I do observe that once the patients have osteoarthritis, it generally leads to a reduction in their physical activity which may then lead to an elevated risk to other chronic conditions like heart conditions and diabetes. I would definitely suggest they remain active through stationary bike riding (for safety reasons) and of course aqua based rehabilitation/ deep water running.

This study doesn't tell us that you can run through osteoarthritis with no consequences. It does however, offer some tentative support for letting your symptoms be your guide. It doesn't mean quitting for the runner with osteoarthritis. If there is no swelling and no pain, you can probably still run. But definitely, please modify the distance, intensity and frequency that you run.

It may mean substituting a bike or swim session for the run occasionally, trying a different shoe, different surface and/ or including a weight training session to get yourself stronger. If you can still find a running routine compatible with your osteoarthritis symptoms, the results of that study should reassure you that you're not making your knees worse by running.


References

Lo GH, Musa SM et al (2018). Running Does Not Increase Symptoms Or Structural Progression In People With Knee Osteoarthritis: Data From The Osteoarthritis Initiative. Clin Rheumatol. DOI: 10.1007/s10067-018-4121-3. Epub.

Williams PT (2013). Effects Of Running And Walking On Osteoarthritis And Hip Replacement Risk. Med Sci Sp Ex. 45(7): 1292-1297. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.ob013e3182885f26.

Oh my aching knee .....