Road Running/Effect on the knees

Brenoh

I am a moderately fit guy, running 8/9 miles 3/4 times a week at the moment and really enjoy running outdoors, usually on grass but sometimes on the road. But now as the evenings get darker I am dreading the thought of rejoining the gym and would rather stay running outside. However I hear alot from people about the damage constantly running on the road will do to your knees. I felt it a little myself during the summer and switched just to running on grass again.
Just wondering what people think, does constant road running damage your knees? and if so is there is any steps that could be taken to help reduce/prevent the pain?

Stark

Evidence suggests that people who do road running all their lives have knees that are no worse than other people of a similar age.

You do have to give your legs some time to adapt to the transition from running on soft surfaces to hard surfaces though and it's important to look out for biomechanical issues when you run. At the moment my biggest worry about the Dublin marathon is that I've done too much training on grass/trail and my legs won't be able to take the constant pounding from the road surface.

Rebelrunner

Stark wrote: »

At the moment my biggest worry about the Dublin marathon is that I've done too much training on grass/trail and my legs won't be able to take the constant pounding from the road surface.

I had a similar fear, but up until 2 weeks ago the ground was so hard that running on grass had little cushion vs. road. So I wouldn't worry too much about it, from now until DCM10 I'll be doing at least one run a week on road.

token56

Intuitively you would have to think that doing lots of running on the road would do some damage, or at least have some effect on the wear and tear of your knees and other body parts. However the thing is a lot of runners are aware of this and take precautions to prevent injuries etc, thats why you see a lot of runners still running competitively into their 50's and beyond without huge problems.

So all in all I think once you take care of yourself and proactively try prevent any damage from being doing, i.e. getting the right runners, taking rest when needed, stretching appropriately, taking joint supplements (glucosamine is a good one), I dont think you would see any huge increase in problems compared to the average person.

Stark

token56 wrote:

taking joint supplements (glucosamine is a good one)

Actually I'd recommend saving your money there. There hasn't been any preventative benefit shown with glucosamine. It's effective in specific cases where cartilage damage has already happened.

RoyMcC

Yet there are plenty of medics out there who will be firm in saying that running is bad for the knees. They will say that they've seen the damage caused. In my view BAD running can be bad for the knees. If you practice running tall, hips high, avoiding clumping onto heels then the foot should absorb most of the shock instead of sending it up through the legs and body.

Together with token56's good advice

token56

Stark wrote: »

Actually I'd recommend saving your money there. There hasn't been any preventative benefit shown with glucosamine. It's effective in specific cases where cartilage damage has already happened.

Fair enough, I've just found it beneficial personally because I do have knee damage, however I guess I was wrong to make the assumption then that it has preventative benefits, and to be honest I haven't looked at the research in detail I was just using my own personal experience. I suppose read around first OP on different supplements that could be useful, but I'm sure there are some.

MrCreosote

One bit of advice would be to avoid running too much on roads/footpaths with a heavy camber.

As Stark says, the old "running on roads wrecks your knees" is a bit of a myth. They are still waiting for the arthritis plague in the US from the running boom in the 70s. Just give your body time to get used to the new surface.

plodder

There was a study reported in the news recently that glucosamine (and chondroitin?) don't have any beneficial effect on joints. Don't have any more details though. It was ony a week or two ago I heard it.

OTOH. Personally, I think (lightish) weight training is very beneficial for the knees. Even exercises like squats and lunges without weights are good too. If you have decent muscle condition, proper shoes, no history of injury, don't go too crazy on hills, or cambered roads, you shouldn't have problems running on tarmac roads.

Brianderunner

Speedwork and races are much tougher on your joints than slower runs, so try to do your speedwork on grass where possible, and try to reduce the number of races you do if you race a lot. Try to do 50% of your overall running on grass, your knees will thank you for it. I wouldnt recommend doing LSR's on grass though, your body won't know what hit it on marathon day.

There is a theory that alternating your runners (i.e. asics one day, mizuno the next) helps prevent injuries as different makes of runners force you to stride that bit differently preventing overuse injuries.

Instabilities in your muscle groups which support the knee also lead to knee injuries but i will let someone more qualified explain that.