Hips take brunt in marathons
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Hips - not knees - are the joints most affected by the constant pounding given to the body of the average marathon runner - however, the damage is not major for either joint. So said a University of Heidelberg study of 20 runners, published in Der Orthopade (October 2006, No 1087). The study, which also studied the joints of a similar number of non-runners of the same age, revealed light arthrosis in 10 of the runners' hip joints, and serious damage in one; and one light arthrosis in one of the control group. In contrast, only three knee joints among the runners revealed light arthrosis. The findings support the contention that long-distance runners need not fear joint damage especially.