Running and Knee Osteoarthritis – Have No Fear!

I recently attended a presentation on osteoarthritis (OA), at which an experienced physiotherapist was speaking to a rather large audience consisting of patients and healthcare professionals. The speaker described knee OA as a degenerative disease characteristic of “wear-and-tear”. When speaking of the importance of exercise in the conservative management of knee OA, the speaker stated that running and other high-impact exercises and activities were not appropriate. These activities were said to be dangerous because of their potential to “create more damage” at the knee and consequently, further progress the disease. Afterward, the speaker advised that all exercise in patients with knee osteoarthritis was to be pain-free, as this was key to not “creating more damage” or “making knee OA worse”.

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1 thought on “Running and Knee Osteoarthritis – Have No Fear!

  1. Aileen Sherrin Hanson

    Good article and thought provoking from the “gold standard” associating running with knee OA. One factor that pops into my mind when reading this is the runner’s biomechanics and fitness level. If biomechanical stresses are minimized through an effective neuromuscular retraining/training program, the runner has appropriate footwear, and is at a reasonable weight it is probably a good source of exercise.

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