Why you shouldn’t be afraid to start running after middle age
As someone who started marathon running in mid-life, I know how many aches and pains (and doubts) you can have if you take on the challenge to start running at an older age.
- As someone who started marathon running in mid-life, I know how many aches and pains (and doubts) you can have if you take on the challenge to start running at an older age.
- Hobbling around my orthopaedic hospital after my first marathon actually led me to do research on runners.
- The high-resolution MRI scans found most of the 115 middle-aged participants had abnormalities in their knees before starting marathon training.
- But while osteoarthritis is more common after middle age, it may actually be a lack of activity that leads to osteoarthritis.
- Reduced muscle use, whether it is through inactivity or sarcopenia or both, also reduces the production of anti-inflammatory myokines from the muscles.
- These chemicals are released when we exercise, and help reduce joint swelling and calm irritated joint linings.
- This effect is pronounced in runners because running uses some of the largest muscles in the body – such as the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings.
Where to begin
- If you want to start running, the main message is to ease into it to reduce the risk of injury.
- One of the best ways to ease into running in mid-life is the NHS Couch to 5K running programme.
- It’s a free guide that will help you gradually work up towards running 5km in just nine weeks.
- If you’ve experienced any of these problems, you’ll want to be careful when exercising to avoid further damage.
Alister Hart receives funding from 3 charities: The Rosetrees Trust, Arthroplasty for Arthritis and The Maurice Hatter Foundation.