Running Not to Blame for Arthritis

Can a study of 70, 000 runners be wrong? Paul Williams, exercise scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, has studied that many runners over 22 years and says that running long distances does not cause repetitive-stress injuries such as arthritis and joint damage.

“There’s a perception out there that somehow you’re wearing out your joints if you’re out there running, ” Williams told Christie Aschwanden, writing for the Washington Post. “I’ve recruited people who were doing 60 or 70 miles per week, and we’ve followed them over time. If there had been an effect, we would have seen it.” Williams believes that running can inhibit joint damage. As leader of the National Runners’ Health Study, he has studied thousands of runners since 1991 and says that he has yet to see any convincing evidence that links running to osteoarthritis.

Major risk factors for osteoarthritis are obesity and family history, according to experts. Patience White, vice president of the Arthritis Foundation, says that people with a family history of osteoarthritis are at a greater risk for joint damage than are distance runners without such a genetic predisposition.

“If you have osteoarthritis in your family, you’re more likely to get it no matter what you do, ” said White. Similarly, carrying excess weight is far more stressful for joints than running. “If you lose five pounds, that’s like 20 pounds across your knees, ” said White.