6 ms·

it's good - as long as your leg joints do not tell you the opposite nd it's too bad when they do :(

brooklyndavs 10y ago
There was a study a few years ago (posted below) that actually found running is fairly good for your joints as the stress encourages your body to build and repair cartilage. If you are personally having joint issues and you want to continue to run I encourage you not to give up. Try different shoes, have your gait analyzed, even see a physical therapist who specializes in running. I obviously don't know if you are in this situation or if you have tried any of these things, but I know even a simple thing like changing the type of shoe you wear and a little rest can help resolve a lot of minor joint pain issues. http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134861448/put-those-shoes-on-running-wont-kill-your-knees http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134861448/put-those-shoes-on-r...
- maxerickson 10y ago
  It's also a good idea to evaluate whether you are running too much. It can take a while to build up that cartilage.
  - nadezhda18 10y ago
    It might have been the case... like 30 min minimum every day
- nadezhda18 10y ago
  thanks for your advices! I did not try to change the shoes or see a therapist. I also think I tried to run too often/much, like min 30 min every day :-|
WalterBright 10y ago
I switched from "heel strike" to "ball of foot strike" when running. (Just tilt the front of your foot down.) It took a couple weeks to adjust. After a couple months, my chronic knee pain faded away, to be replaced by chronic pain in the knuckles of my big toes. Doing the ball strike puts an immediately noticeably less of an impact load on your knees/hips.
- projectileboy 10y ago
  My experience as well. Started running last year at age 44, started getting bad knee pain within weeks. Switched to forefoot strike, knee pain practically disappeared, ran my first marathon last fall. Different people have different constraints, of course, but I would urge anyone interested in picking up running to at least try it out.
  - arximboldi 10y ago
    I'm 28, relatively thin, been running casually sometimes, and also got knee pain after a few months last time I got into running more seriously. I stopped for a while, did various strengthening exercises that I found on Youtube and most importantly adapted the to front-middle strike. For this, I also got low drop (4mm) shoes, which made adapting the strike so so much easier. The knee pain is now gone and I feel that my leg is in better shape--strength better distributed--because of the front strike.
    - WalterBright 10y ago
      I once went to a sports doctor about my knee pain. As I recall, he charged me $600 for an evaluation, and prescribed orthotics. The orthotics did not have any effect, despite my wearing them for years. Bah.
- nadezhda18 10y ago
  at some point in the beginning of the year, I did change my strike and it helped. I started leaning forward while running and it changed the strike to the forefoot one. But recently I developed a new kind of pain... it happens when I bend my knees. The worse part it now hurts even if I cycle longer than 10 min! :( I guess I will keep digging on this subject. Thanks for your advice anyway!
  - aws_ls 10y ago
    Don't lose heart. It takes time. In my 30s, I used to barely do 400m of relatively brisk running. And I'd mentally resigned to looking at running as a thing for the young. Until a wise friend told me about the book 'Born to run'. It was in 2009 Nov/Dec. The book is a fantastic & entertaining read, despite based on Scientific facts. So I recommend it to every body, whenever this topic comes up. Keep on gifting it to friends. Thought of giving it to random strangers in park, who I saw struggle with running, but restrained myself. But whenever any stranger in the park asks me about running, I always recommend the book. Okay, I digressed a lot, so let me get back to the point. I try to remember the following from the book: 1) Easy then speed - A mistake all rookies make is they go for speed. A thumb rule for easy is, you should be able to breathe easily i.e. easy enough to have a conversation with a co-runner. Not easy, I keep lapsing into running fast, but time and again remind myself of this. 2) Be upright: In your comment you mention you lean forward. Thats a wrong posture. The weight should pass vertically through your body, right uptill the foot. As somebody above said, even the strikes should be below your body. Not too much forward. Head should be straight. 3) Barefoot: I am not fanatic about this. My wife runs with shoes and she does 30km every week, and she is fine with it. But before starting (in 2009) I did use to get some knee pain, perhaps because of trying to run fast. Perhaps it was longer stride (like teenagers run for short distances). Or perhaps it was just lack of belief & practice. Or perhaps it was the heel-strike. Once an old gentleman in the park, I'd developed friendship with, commented that I was heel striking. And I thought, what the heck, just some random old school & out-dated thought. My bad. But anyway long story short, the book convinced me to run barefoot. And so I started, first with shoes itself, but very consciously toe striking, and it was quite difficult. I could definitely go upto 2-3 km, but my calf muscles used to pain like hell. But knees were perfectly fine. So it happened what the book predicted, and I was encouraged. And I have been persistent with it. Fast forward to today. I do 41km per week (13, 13 & 15-17 on alternate days). Use a vibram for muddy trails. On concrete do bare foot. Also I encouraged my wife to start running and after initial resistance, she started in 2013. Then she could barely do 200meters. But now as I said above, she is also a serious (albeit in amateur/recreational category) runner. Her pulse rate dropped from being 80/90 to now in the 60s. So if you want to, keep at it, and it will happen. edit: some typos
tallanvor 10y ago
Try adding in regular strength training - doing squats properly can help immensely, and with a few other leg exercises, you might be surprised just how much of a difference it makes.
- nadezhda18 10y ago
  yeah I should definitely try that! I started doing burpees and realized I am very bad at squatting :(

There was a study a few years ago (posted below) that actually found running is fairly good for your joints as the stress encourages your body to build and repair cartilage. If you are personally having joint issues and you want to continue to run I encourage you not to give up. Try different shoes, have your gait analyzed, even see a physical therapist who specializes in running. I obviously don't know if you are in this situation or if you have tried any of these things, but I know even a simple thing like changing the type of shoe you wear and a little rest can help resolve a lot of minor joint pain issues. http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134861448/put-those-shoes-on-running-wont-kill-your-knees http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134861448/put-those-shoes-on-r...

maxerickson 10y ago
It's also a good idea to evaluate whether you are running too much. It can take a while to build up that cartilage.
- nadezhda18 10y ago
  It might have been the case... like 30 min minimum every day
nadezhda18 10y ago
thanks for your advices! I did not try to change the shoes or see a therapist. I also think I tried to run too often/much, like min 30 min every day :-|

WalterBright 10y ago

I switched from "heel strike" to "ball of foot strike" when running. (Just tilt the front of your foot down.) It took a couple weeks to adjust. After a couple months, my chronic knee pain faded away, to be replaced by chronic pain in the knuckles of my big toes. Doing the ball strike puts an immediately noticeably less of an impact load on your knees/hips.

projectileboy 10y ago
My experience as well. Started running last year at age 44, started getting bad knee pain within weeks. Switched to forefoot strike, knee pain practically disappeared, ran my first marathon last fall. Different people have different constraints, of course, but I would urge anyone interested in picking up running to at least try it out.
- arximboldi 10y ago
  I'm 28, relatively thin, been running casually sometimes, and also got knee pain after a few months last time I got into running more seriously. I stopped for a while, did various strengthening exercises that I found on Youtube and most importantly adapted the to front-middle strike. For this, I also got low drop (4mm) shoes, which made adapting the strike so so much easier. The knee pain is now gone and I feel that my leg is in better shape--strength better distributed--because of the front strike.
  - WalterBright 10y ago
    I once went to a sports doctor about my knee pain. As I recall, he charged me $600 for an evaluation, and prescribed orthotics. The orthotics did not have any effect, despite my wearing them for years. Bah.
nadezhda18 10y ago
at some point in the beginning of the year, I did change my strike and it helped. I started leaning forward while running and it changed the strike to the forefoot one. But recently I developed a new kind of pain... it happens when I bend my knees. The worse part it now hurts even if I cycle longer than 10 min! :( I guess I will keep digging on this subject. Thanks for your advice anyway!
- aws_ls 10y ago
  Don't lose heart. It takes time. In my 30s, I used to barely do 400m of relatively brisk running. And I'd mentally resigned to looking at running as a thing for the young. Until a wise friend told me about the book 'Born to run'. It was in 2009 Nov/Dec. The book is a fantastic & entertaining read, despite based on Scientific facts. So I recommend it to every body, whenever this topic comes up. Keep on gifting it to friends. Thought of giving it to random strangers in park, who I saw struggle with running, but restrained myself. But whenever any stranger in the park asks me about running, I always recommend the book. Okay, I digressed a lot, so let me get back to the point. I try to remember the following from the book: 1) Easy then speed - A mistake all rookies make is they go for speed. A thumb rule for easy is, you should be able to breathe easily i.e. easy enough to have a conversation with a co-runner. Not easy, I keep lapsing into running fast, but time and again remind myself of this. 2) Be upright: In your comment you mention you lean forward. Thats a wrong posture. The weight should pass vertically through your body, right uptill the foot. As somebody above said, even the strikes should be below your body. Not too much forward. Head should be straight. 3) Barefoot: I am not fanatic about this. My wife runs with shoes and she does 30km every week, and she is fine with it. But before starting (in 2009) I did use to get some knee pain, perhaps because of trying to run fast. Perhaps it was longer stride (like teenagers run for short distances). Or perhaps it was just lack of belief & practice. Or perhaps it was the heel-strike. Once an old gentleman in the park, I'd developed friendship with, commented that I was heel striking. And I thought, what the heck, just some random old school & out-dated thought. My bad. But anyway long story short, the book convinced me to run barefoot. And so I started, first with shoes itself, but very consciously toe striking, and it was quite difficult. I could definitely go upto 2-3 km, but my calf muscles used to pain like hell. But knees were perfectly fine. So it happened what the book predicted, and I was encouraged. And I have been persistent with it. Fast forward to today. I do 41km per week (13, 13 & 15-17 on alternate days). Use a vibram for muddy trails. On concrete do bare foot. Also I encouraged my wife to start running and after initial resistance, she started in 2013. Then she could barely do 200meters. But now as I said above, she is also a serious (albeit in amateur/recreational category) runner. Her pulse rate dropped from being 80/90 to now in the 60s. So if you want to, keep at it, and it will happen. edit: some typos

tallanvor 10y ago

Try adding in regular strength training - doing squats properly can help immensely, and with a few other leg exercises, you might be surprised just how much of a difference it makes.

nadezhda18 10y ago
yeah I should definitely try that! I started doing burpees and realized I am very bad at squatting :(