The WORST sports for damaging your knees, according to science – and it’s not just running

Home / Patient Education / The WORST sports for damaging your knees, according to science – and it’s not just running
  • Long distance running, football, weightlifting and wrestling are worst on joints
  • These sports found to raise risk of osteoarthritis by up to seven times
  • This is compared to basketball players, boxers, and track and field athletes
  • Study on elite athletes but shows some sports are rougher on joints than others
  • Evidence osteoarthritis is rising in young and middle-aged, says expert

Many people worry that pounding the pavement is bad for their knees.

But running isn’t the only sport that risks damage to these joints, according to scientists.

As well as long distance running, playing football, weightlifting, and wrestling raises the chances of suffering osteoarthritis in the knees by three to seven times.

This is compared to basketball players, boxers, and track and field athletes, researchers found.

The study, published in the Journal of Athletic Training, focused on professional athletes – suggesting the impact would not be as harsh for the average person playing sports a few times a week.

However, it still highlight that some sports are rougher on our joints than others.

Long distance running, playing football, weightlifting, and wrestling were found to be the worst sports for causing osteoarthritis in the knees (file photo)

Long distance running, playing football, weightlifting, and wrestling were found to be the worst sports for causing osteoarthritis in the knees

SPORTS THAT DAMAGE KNEES AND ONES THAT ARE KINDER

The most harmful – up to seven times compared to others – are:

  • Long distance running
  • Playing football
  • Weightlifting
  • Wrestling

These activities are somewhat kinder in comparison:

  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Track and field athletes

Osteoarthritis is a condition that causes joints to become painful and stiff. It’s the most common type of arthritis in the UK.

Some people also experience swelling, tenderness and a grating or crackling sound when moving the affected joints.

The exact cause isn’t known, but several things are thought to increase your risk of developing it including joint injury, ageing, family history and obesity.

Joseph Hart, journal co-guest editor associate professor at the University of Virginia said: ‘In the past, osteoarthritis was considered a disease that affects only the elderly.

‘We are seeing increasing evidence that young and middle-aged adults are suffering from osteoarthritis as well, and it is often attributable to a history of acute traumatic joint injury.

‘Because anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are most common in young individuals and particularly girls, a 17-year-old athlete who tears her ACL could develop osteoarthritis before she turns 30 and experience pain or disability for more than half her life.’

Key findings

A team of researchers from US universities carried out a review of six databases to analyze the link between different sports and osteoarthritis among nearly 3,800 athletes.

They found around 45 per cent of athletes suffer knee osteoarthritis – but that risk increased to 57 per cent among those with knee injuries.

It rose to 61 per cent among former athletes who become obese.

The osteoarthritis risk is correlated with a sport’s intensity – sports such as running and weightlifting place higher demands on knee joints, while football and wrestling places stress on them through knee twisting.

The researchers recommend undertaking preventative exercises to lower your odds of injury, including extensive warmups and foam rolling, a simple self-manual therapy technique often used to improve flexibility and recovery.

SPINNING TOO HARD CAN CAUSE KIDNEY FAILURE

Pushing yourself too hard during a spin class can cause deadly kidney damage, recent research reveals.

Spinning outside of your exercise comfort zone can cause such a depletion in energy levels that cells swell and burst, releasing proteins that damage the kidneys in a condition known as exertional rhabdomyolysis.

Cases of exertional rhabdomyolysis are on the rise as people proudly post pictures of themselves on a hospital drip as a ‘badge of honour’ to show their dedication to exercise, according to Dr Rob Eley, academic research manager at the University of Queensland.

In the Brisbane area alone, cases have increased from a maximum of six a year a decade ago to more than 40 today, Dr Eley adds.

Hot spinning studios and the lack of worries about traffic may also encourage exercisers to push themselves further than is comfortable.