Reserach Articles on Running Needed!

My husband expressed some concerns about my recent interest in learning to run. I've been walking a lot and just recently started doing a bit of jogging. He is concerned. I know he only wants what is best for me. But he once read that running isn't necessarily good for you and that walking is much safer and better for you.

If I remember correctly the claim was that running was much harder on the joints and the internal organs, especially the female organs. But it's been a long time since we talked about this, so I can't remember for sure. But I know that he does have concerns. Has anyone heard any health concerns about running and if so is there any evidence to back up or dispel such concerns?

I would like to read some good articles on the subject, preferably ones with good research to back up the claims. My husband listens to sound research evidence and I am also interested in knowing what the research says.

Thanks,

Beth

Hi Beth,

Try the website : www.runnersworld.com for more info. regarding running.  My own experience is to start off slow and progress from there.  Initially I could only run for 5 mins straight and now I can do 20 mins straight.  As you can see I am building my endurance as well in running.  Dont run everyday because it will lead to knee problems and shin splints.  I have some pain in my left shin in the beginning of a run but the pain subsides into the run.  Get good sneakers with cushion that helps alot to protect your legs too.  Also stretch real good after a run. 

Hope this helps :)

I am a firm believer in running for anyone who wants to try the sport. It is NOT for everyone! But try it. I have been running for 25 + years, I'm a 47 year old  female, and I have completed 5 organized half marathons (13.1 miles) and plenty half marathons on my own time. I love this distance, enough miles to feel great and yet I am not on the road all day. My husband and I have always ran. Our two sons have been pushed in their strollers, they have rollerbladed and they have rode their bikes beside us as we ran. Now they are runners too. Exercise is so important for your overall weight loss and better health. Everyone needs to find a sport, any sport to be happy, motativated and active

Buy yourself a running magazine. Read it. They have excellent information for the beginner to the advanced runner. Then leave it out for your husband to read. He is hesitant because he is not a runner. He doesn't understand the feeling of running, then the excitement of completing a distance. If running is for you, hopefully he will see your excitement and respect your interest and be there for you.  That said, if running is your sport and once you can complete 5k - 3 miles, sign yourself up in a road race and have your husband drive you there... hopefully he will see you cross the finish line and then maybe he will understand.

As for womans' health issues, I have had them all. I do not believe running was the cause. Learn about the sport and take it slow, there are so many more pros to running than cons.  

Janis

southern_midwife: My boyfriend has the exact same concerns. Your husband and my boyfriend must have read the same aritcle. However I still haven't read it myself.

In my opinion I think form is the biggest issue with any form of exercise... if you weight train using incorrect form you can hurt yourself - if you run with incorrect form - you can hurt yourself.

I think running is one of those sports anyone can try because of the limited equipment requirements - and not everyone does it with good form. So perhaps (this is only a guess) these researchers see more injuries with running vs walkers because it is indeed high impact which can cause more damage if you do it incorrectly.

I tried starting Couch to 5k last week and ended up with very distressing hip pain (I have genetic alignment issues) - so I'm still not convinced running is a good idea for everyone - but I do think it is worth researching and trying.

Start slow - build up the strength in the muscles so that they can support your joints and progress from there.

Running IS much harder on the joints and muscles in your legs than walking, because your feet hit the ground with much more force at every step. But I don't see that it could be bad for your insides...

Original Post by siu82:

Hi Beth,

Try the website : www.runnersworld.com for more info. regarding running.  My own experience is to start off slow and progress from there.  Initially I could only run for 5 mins straight and now I can do 20 mins straight.  As you can see I am building my endurance as well in running.  Dont run everyday because it will lead to knee problems and shin splints.  I have some pain in my left shin in the beginning of a run but the pain subsides into the run.  Get good sneakers with cushion that helps alot to protect your legs too.  Also stretch real good after a run. 

Hope this helps :)

I second this post.  They have some great beginner running programs that should help you ease into running and avoid injury. 

This article might give you some info - not so much a research article, but it might have some good links/references: http://www.figureathlete.com/readArticle.do?i d=1784089

(it's by Rachel Cosgrove, Alwyn's wife)

Thanks amethystgirl!

I liked that ariticle - and I agree with a lot of what she says.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/11/hea lth/webmd/main4340602.shtml

 

Thought this might be interesting for you and your husband. 

Interesting article. But what I'd like to know is what percentage of "non-runners" did any kind of physical activity? Walking? Swimming? Or were they all couch potatoes?

I never seem to get enough satisfactory answers out of these kinds of studies.

Original Post by amethystgirl:

This article might give you some info - not so much a research article, but it might have some good links/references: http://www.figureathlete.com/readArticle.do?i d=1784089

(it's by Rachel Cosgrove, Alwyn's wife)

I read this article and she does say some things that are worth considering. She is certainly someone who can speak on the subject. So, I would be a fool to just dismiss everything she says without at least hearing her out on the subject first.

However, I did read the article and I pick up on a quite a bit of attitude that I'm not too crazy about. I'm not starting out running cold turkey and I'm not starting off doing very much at all. I've been walking 6 miles a day for 3 months. The first day I even tried to run, I only ran about 3 minutes total and only did that for 30 seconds at a time. There is something to be said for starting really slow. I see it as a process. My doctor agrees.

Yet she seems to be saying don't run at all until you first "earn the right" to run by working out and first getting a runner's body. I would agree that running too much too fast without learning how to do it safely is foolish. But I don't think everyone who starts running starts that way. I'm certainly not.

So, until I see some good research to back what she is saying about not starting running at all until you "earn the right", I will take what she says with a big grain of salt.

~ Beth

Original Post by cplatt:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/11/hea lth/webmd/main4340602.shtml

 

Thought this might be interesting for you and your husband.

Very encouraging study! Thank you for sharing this link. Here is another article on the same study

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080811/hl_nm/age _running_dc;_ylt=AiccAkliTB8k5Kedy.SS.x.s0NUE

To answer jef's question, It was my understanding from the article that the non-runner group did participate in some form of exercise, too. But you do raise a valid question.

I was more bothered that they didn't take all smokers out of the study. The article simply said the runners were "less likely to smoke." I don't care about that because I don't plan to ever smoke whether I run or not. But everyone knows that smoking has a negative impact on your health. So I would be concerned that if the non running group had more smokers, this might have confused the study somewhat.

Still overall, I think this study is very interesting and encouraging to someone like me that is over 50 and considering running as a new way to exercise. I'm especially pleased to read that there was NOT a higher rate of joint problems with the running group.

~ Beth

Thought better of the post. Articles like the one posted regarding when to run drive me positively batty.

Running really isn't the best form of exercise, and I'm not saying that just because I'm a swimmer...teh. Well, running, especially with women having wide hips places a larger amount of pressure on the knees.

The knee is a joint, and has cartilage. As you get older, the cartilage wears down, causing arthritis from use. Running, especially with women, places even more pressure on the knees, making the cartilage wear down, and possibly damaging the bone.

It isn't the best for your joints, and can cause knee problems. My friend ran track in high school, she was great, going to get a college scholarship and all, and she quit because she got tired of it. A few years later she had to have a knee replacement, and can never run again. Her doctor said running was the worst thing you can do to your body, and suggested more joint friendly sports like bike riding and swimming.

Depends on who you are as well - through I'm personally of the opinion that running is pretty much a horrible form of exercise, there are people who enjoy that sort of thing and keep on running well into retirement.

 Some women have Q-angles that dispose them to extra wear and tear, some do not. You do need a running specific strength training program for best results - you might want the Army's new PT version if you don't like Rachel's - and you should also get your shoes from a specialty running store where the staff actually know what sort of shoes best suit your gait if you're going to be doing a lot of it.

 But that it can be dagerous for any internal organs? Yeah, that's the sort of myth that makes the rounds every now and again, and it's up there with the Pink Dumbbell myth or the "women shouldn't exercise during their period" - or at all - as far as accuracy is concerned.

 You'd want to check with Mistress Krista, and she really doesn't think there's any problems with Working out and reproductive health that this 'concern trolls' trot out every now and again.

 Basically, as long as you follow a sane training program you're going to be all right ;)