Fleet Feet, Better Bones...

Debbie Fetterman is a runner and columnist for the Dallas Morning News. She writes an article each Friday that I enjoy reading.

Sometimes, the News has her write in their Healthy Living section. I found this article that was very interesting to me, so I thought I would share it with each of you.

Enjoy:

Studies find no link between running and osteoarthritis

February 3, 2009
Debbie Fetterman
dfetterman@dfwrunning.com

Todd Townsend of Plano recently received an endorsement to keep running from his Plano internist. This doctor previously cautioned him about potential joint damage.

"I used to go in, and he'd say, 'You might want to limit your running,' " Townsend, 33, recalls. "You might want to do more cycling."

Dr. Arash Tirandaz's newfound support of running comes from a study that shows the health benefits runners experience far outweigh potential risks of injury.

Concerns about knee and ankle joint damage, predicted for years by orthopedists, hasn't materialized in aging distance runners, according to Dr. James Fries and a team from the Stanford University School of Medicine. In September, they wrote "Running and the Development of Disability With Age" in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Tirandaz says there was not evidence of increased osteoarthritis among aging runners. Rather, the results suggest that weight-bearing activities such as running might lower the risk of osteoporosis by maintaining bone mineral density, he says.

"I've revised my thinking," Dr. Tirandaz says. "If you've been running, then I encourage you to continue running."

Dr. Tirandaz says he recommends common sense and moderation to his patients but he no longer worries about the constant pounding for patients with healthy joints.

This information applies only to those who do not have joint issues from previous injuries, emphasizes Dr. Tedd Mitchell, president and CEO of the Cooper Clinic. Those patients still need cardiovascular exercise, but they should find low-impact alternatives to running such as elliptical trainers, cycling and swimming, he says.

Experience shows that most runners can maintain pain-free joints as they age if they respect the four S's: properly fit shoes, soft surfaces, slower speeds and smooth running styles, adds Mitchell.

Studies continue to show that vigorous cardiovascular exercise, achieved through running, decreases disability and mortality. Mitchell says several recent studies confirm that moderately intense regular exercise five days a week lowers the risk of cardiovascular and cancer deaths; reduces blood pressure, cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose levels; improves blood sugar metabolism; and enhances immune systems.

For Mitchell, the benefits are so indisputable that he prescribes exercise much like medicine, insisting that patients need their daily doses.

"If I start you on blood pressure medicine, I don't tell you take it all on Saturday and Sunday," he says. "I want you to take a dose daily. Too many people fall into the weekend warrior mind-set with exercise."

Townsend has found a way to weave running and strength training into his daily routine. He says he runs about 15 miles weekly on the treadmill during the winter. He increases his mileage to 25 miles a week, primarily outdoors, in the spring and summer.

"I'm in a better mood all the time from exercising," he says. "You feel like you've worn yourself out and done something good for yourself, that you might live a little longer because of it."