Did you know that your workouts may cause arthritic knee pain? Many workout warriors with asymptomatic knees would never even think about this until it is, unfortunately, too late.
Recently, I saw a picture of a 70 year old former exercise guru in a wheelchair recovering form both knee, and hip replacement surgeries. This individual in the 1980's frequently promoted a fitness program that featured high impact aerobics. After I saw that pictures the first thing that crossed my minds was a connection between high impact aerobics, and arthritic knee pain.
If you have never thought about knee arthritis, then I recommend starting to think about it today. Why? Because a recent study correlated an increased risk of knee osteoarthritis with high impact exercise.
The study looked at 136 women, and 100 men, ages 45 - 55. They were divided into three groups - low activity, medium, and high. All subjects had healthy knees, and were of average weight when the study began.
The results showed that 93% of people in the high activity group suffered from cartilage damage versus 60% in the low activity group. Of course, the high impact exercises, day after day, can often lead to arthritic knee pain. A high impact fitness program would be considered running, and jumping. A low impact workout would be swimming, elliptical training, or riding the bike.
The study also found that lower impact exercises may protect diseased cartilage, and prevent them from developing osteoarthritis knees.
So what do you need to know to prevent knee cartilage damage?
1. Incorporate a cross training type of fitness program to prevent arthritic knee pain.
Don't just run 7 days a week, year in and year out. Mix your workout up by incorporating low impact cardiovascular sessions.
2. Get adequate rest between workout.
The higher the intensity of exercise, the more rest is required between workouts. Don't be afraid to take days off. Focus on quality training, not quantity. Shorten your workouts. Attempt to avoid overuse injuries.
3. When you hit the 40 years of age, don't focus on training like a high level competitive athlete.
Be smart! Even though I love training like an athlete, I know plyometrics are not the best things for my knees at 42 years of age. Once again, strategically plan your workouts.
Please understand, I am not saying you can't workout from time to time in a high impact manner. However, cross training, and sufficient rest is mandatory as you age.
High impact exercises at 40 years old, plus, have shown to significantly increase your chances of arthritic knee pain. In order to avoid knee osteoarthritis make sure you follow the recommendations presented above. A well planned out, intelligent fitness program will equal healthier knees.
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