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349 points zdw | 3 comments | | HN request time: 0.255s | source
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president_zippy ◴[] No.45652818[source]
Something about this just reminds me of when I did a literature review in my anatomy class to address the question: "Is running bad for your knees?"

I had to decide which of two sets of peer-reviewed publications that contradict each other was least guilty using the data to support the conclusion rather than letting the data speak for itself and making an honest conclusion.

Compared to PhDs, MDs hate designing an experiment and would rather just extrapolate a different conclusion from the same longitudinal study by cherry-picking a different set of variables. The only articles I bother reading from the NEJM anymore are case studies because they're the only publications that consist of mostly-original information.

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Root_Denied ◴[] No.45653259[source]
The fun part is realizing that any and all exercise comes with risks, and running probably is bad for your knees in the long term - but maybe the long term health benefits to the rest of your body of running outweigh the risk of damage to your knees.

Your personal health profile or family history may also put you at higher risk for cartilage degeneration from running, which would shift the balance in the other direction.

Blanket statements about medical outcomes like that are useful for medical practice in general, but can be misleading for individuals making health decisions if they ignore other relevant factors. There's also plenty of doctors who will not take those other relevant factors into account and just go by whatever the last training or research they were exposed to (which, incidentally, is also why big pharma companies invest in salespeople to target doctor offices - because it works).

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1. mlrtime ◴[] No.45654611[source]
Right but is simply walking better for you overall? You still get exercise without the forceful impact on knees.
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2. cainxinth ◴[] No.45655462[source]
You can get almost all of the health benefits of running from walking (weight loss, cardiovascular performance, etc.), it just takes much longer. Also, running is better for the bones (but worse for soft tissues).
3. lanfeust6 ◴[] No.45661633[source]
Cycling/spin can yield more aerobic intensity with less stress on knees, you can't even get to Zone 2 with walking unless you're very overweight. Of course there are bodyweight options like aerobics, shadow boxing, jumping rope.

Skipping rope would be my favorite were it not for the fact that you need a lot of headspace for the rope. This makes it unviable except outdoors or at a gym/facility.