A friend today said that a doctor told him running was bad for your joints and your heart and should be avoided. Is there any truth in this? My instinct is that it's much better to be active and our bodies are designed to cope with running but I've heard these criticisms before. Mainly from people who don't exercise.
Is running bad for you?: A friend today said... - Couch to 5K
Is running bad for you?
Written by
bluebanella
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35 Replies
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mrrunGraduate
It'd be good to hear that doc's full assessment based on observation of your friend. And what would the doctor suggest? A gentle breaststroke upstream in mild waters? Nonsense.
swisstony4Graduate
Every form of exercise has it risks, as long as you manage the risk and do the exercises properly there should be little to worry about.
If we took this doctors advice then the country would be in a bigger obesity epidemic than it already is ..
How true! And many congratulations on graduating, Swisstony. Your post was great!
Maybe bluebanella’s friend’s doctor should speak to you and the rest of us and try to understand how much good running has done us.
Go for it, bluebanella.
Sandraj39Graduate
......No.☺
SaskAlliecatGraduate
I've had a masseuse lecture me during my entire massage how bad running is, compressing your spine, and that nobody should run. Needless to say, I didn't listen, nor do I go to him anymore. There will be circumstances where running may not be good, but not fair as a general rule like my masseuse was stating. I have bulging disk spaces and a surgically fused disk space in my neck from a stupidity moment while skiing but have suffered zero issues in my neck since starting running. It relaxes me which helps to ease the tension I hold in my neck. So I feel, it actually helps me.
Bazza1234Graduate
What is really bad for your knees is getting really, really fat and NOT running!!!!
runner56Graduate
I hear that being alive is actually very bad for your health but I am willing to take the risk.
LOL, literally 
Yes, the biggest cause of osteoarthritis is being overweight and sedentary. Ditto heart disease.
BeccymGraduate
I have lost count of the number of people have said this sort of stuff to me.I have one friend who every time I see her says oh you shouldn't run after 40 but this might just be to shut me up I am a bit of a running bore.
I know from a personal level that I feel better when I am running health wise both physically and mentally. Yes you may get injured most runners do at some point.
Oops - I didn't start until I was 46!
Thanks for all the replies. Having just finished the first two runs after a year of thinking about it this comment was a bit of a downer. But R2 was a little easier than r 1 and the advice and support on here is great. I'm determined to keep going.
The program is hard but sooo worth it. Keep going - you are doing great.
We are all adults and able to make our own informed decisions. I started this program at 57 having wantonly watched other runners for years thinking I couldn’t & shouldn’t do it. I, like many others on this forum, have many joint issues and I have always exercised; I cycle, swim, do core training & hot yoga and I’ve had a bad knee for 2 years: running has sorted it out and I feel great. This program is awesome and really works. Just read the posts on here. I’m going to keep running as part of my health & fitness and say no to the naysayers. Bluebanella, welcome to the pack, and you do what makes you feel good 👍🏃♀️🏃♀️ Happy running.
IrishprincessGraduate
Getting behind the wheel of your car poses a higher risk of injury and even death and most of us do this every single day with not a thought.
Ignore the jealousers (I made that up 🙂) and keep running 🏃🏃🏃
Bazza1234Graduate
I think this is just a case of people repeating things that they read/hear and with which they agree - like swimming in the ocean is very dangerous, there are sharks!
IgaTGraduate
Running is good for you, as long as you don't jump into marathon your first day. Building up gradually allow your body to strengthen the muscles, bones, heart, and respiratory system. Any kind of exercises different then laying down is causing discs compressions. But sitting is the worst kind as it's doing it unequally causing major back problems.
The doctor was half right. One thing he was totally wrong is running is great for your heart. There are positive sides of everything and risks of everything. Important bit is ratio between those two. For all of us over here, the benefits just smashed this small risks as we proceed with caution and gradually build up our bodies with alaays the same motto 'slow and steady' 
I had a massive knee problems. I started with loads of walking and hiking (volume increased over 3 years). Now, I'm running and as long as I'm not crazy to have a sprint my knees are fine. My IC due to back problems was unrelated to running (new job is to blame).
So have a happy time running!
Really? So humans didn't evolve to chase their food? Perhaps Dr thinks we are now evolving to sit on sofas all day? Terrible advice I think.
I’m guessing it all depends on if you’re friend had any underlying conditions as to why the doc said what he did. My initial reaction was to disagree with the doctor’s pronouncement, but I don’t know the context. My husband was told that running would be bad for his joints, but that is because his knees have been eroded by arthritis and the impact of running will only exacerbate the condition. However I keep telling the lovely Me Razouski that this doesn’t prevent him from doing all exercise 😂😂😂
I doubt the NHS would have invested the time and money to set up and promote the C25K programme if they felt it wasn't good for us.
They have clearly put a lot of effort into it, with webpages, apps, podcasts, blogs, leaflets, forums, celebrity involvement and more. It's well thought out and well designed not only in how to get people involved but also in how to start running in the most safe and injury free way possible... slow and steady to promote stronger bones and muscles, and increase stamina at a safe pace.
Some health professionals may feel it's not what's right (I would probably assume they're not runners) but it appears the health profession does think it's a good thing
I checked with mine because i have old leg injuries and am ancient. She snorted gracefully and said running would build up muscle and support my injuries, and I was more likely to get a heart attack if i didn't run. Your friend's doctor sounds old school (it used to be thought that running wore away cartilage in the knee etc, but it's now known that we don't get this as a result of running).
WhatsappGraduate
Your body responds to the strains put upon it by adapting to survive. Get a cold and your immune system reacts to not only get rid of the cold, but to guard against further attacks of the same strain. Which is why we gets lots as a child but less as an adult as our immune system improves.
The same principle works with exercise. You want bigger muscles - then start putting those muscles under strain with exercise. You body responds to this 'attack' by building bigger muscles to cope. We 'plateau' as our body has built sufficient muscle to deal with the exercise, so we add more weight to initiate this response again.
Take this across to running, our body builds to adapt to the exercise we do, and this includes developing stronger bones in our legs as well as muscles and improving our cardio fitness.
The programme takes care to ensure that we do not do too much-too soon (thus causing injury) by building us gradually over 9 weeks. Just remember the walking intervals are just as important a part of the exercise as the running to aid this adaptation.
The other key thing to remember is that our body does its building, strengthening and adapting during our 'rest' days. We can undertake complimentary or cross training during these days (swimming, cycling, weights, pilates, yoga, etc), as long as we don't undergo high impact activity on our legs tduring this time. Too much exercise without the rest days prevents our body from rebuiling and results in fatigue and injury.
We are all different, of course, and injuries can happen even to the most cautious runner. However, heres a quick list, which is in no way definitive:
1. Take your rest days. One day rest is a minimum betwen runs.
2. Keep well hydrated every day. What you drink the day before a run is important.
3. Never run on pain. If it hurst avoid exercise until its feels better.
4. Always warm-up/warm-down properly - the programme allows for this.
5. Invest in good running trainers. Get advice from your local, reputable sports shop.
6. Go slow. You are building your endurance (strength). Your speed, etc. will naturally improve with regular running, after the programme is complete.
7. Trust the programme. Thousands have got into running this way - it works!
8. On completion of the programme you will feel invincible, but don't be tempted to sign-up up for a marathon straight away. Consolidate your runs by running regularly for a few months. If/when you are ready to increase distance, do so gradually, there are many good plans to help you.
Madge50Graduate
Well, there’s their excuse not to then! 😂, leave them to it I say.....were they sure this was a doctor of medicine? I have never, ever, in my health career heard any medical professional state exercise is bad for you......😂....
Dear oh dear.....😂.....we’re all done for!
Mx
Cornet-CarolynGraduate
I'm sure the NHS wouldn't be promoting running if it was bad for your health! Enjoy every minute of it and be proud 👍
pinkaardvarkGraduate
There are pros and cons with all things in life. Certainly one of the cons is that the constant pounding breaks down the collagen in your face and other places, meaning you will look older than your age. If you go to a running club and look at the faces of long distance runners you will see what I mean. The bbc did a really good piece on this not too long ago.
I can't believe it does anything other than good for the heart though, recent research has shown that a reasonable level of aerobic exercise of 150mins per week can start to reverse damage to the heart if carried out for at least two years. So keep on running
My doctor gave me a ‘perfect’ blood pressure result, 5 months after me starting to run. As to the joints, no worse than before. Running maybe bad if you don’t scale up to it, ignore underlying health issues, don’t take rest and basically avoid sound advice. But the benefits - all the lovely runners on here, who you’d never get to meet unless you were one of us, the slight buzz from new trainers, the sheer pleasure of knowing you can run a distance if you wanted to, the outside, the gym treadmills to keep you cushioned, oh and a personal one the new found love of fluoro....
Ask rolysmate about rediscovering a hitherto unused belt hole!
Don’t let a doctor with a downer on running get in your way....
1slowcoachGraduate
Our local park run on a Sunday is organised by a Doctor!
davelinksGraduate
Again, more negative criticism from non runners! Is this comment from an older doctor? Some of them are very suspect, like the doctor who said my wife's brain tumour was a swollen blood vessel, luckily we already knew the correct diagnosis from a neurosurgeon, so I corrected this GP and told him it was a meningioma!
There is no problem with running! My new doctor tells me to keep on doing what I'm doing!😊
VictoriaRunsGraduate
The doctor said this? My doctor said that the whole 'running is bad for your joints' rhetoric is archaic nonsense (so long as you're not running marathons on concrete and that you do strength exercises in tandem that is)
Running is bad for some people's joints and heart I suppose...
c1air3Graduate
I had to visit a physiotherapist some time ago due to knee pain and he told me to go for a slow jog as my knee muscles needed strengthening up. I had never heard this before but he swore it would work........so her I am I have started C25K
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