As promised… a few abstracts for you:
**1: **Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax. 2006 Aug 30;95(35):1305-16. Links
· Frohnauer A,
· Neff A,
· Knechtle B.
Gesundheitszentrum.
There is no doubt that the mean body weight of our population is continuously rising. In this context it is interesting to know that running–compared to cycling–results in a higher decrease of subcutaneous adipose tissue and has therefore a favourable influence on body weight. But public opinion still assumes that running provokes arthritis. This is used as a pretext against regular running training**. In this overview we would like to show that running does not increase the risk of arthritis contrary to physical inactivity and overweight. Runners do not show a higher risk of developing joint arthritis on their lower extremities. However, frequency of arthritis is significantly higher in inactive and obese persons.**
**: **Orthopade. 2006 Oct;35(10):1087-92. Links
· Schmitt H,
· Rohs C,
· Schneider S,
· Clarius M.
Stiftung Orthopadische Universitatsklinik, Schlierbacher Landstrasse 200a, 69118 Heidelberg. holger.schmitt@ok.uni-heidelberg.de
BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to find what degenerative changes were present in the hip and knee joints of former elite marathon runners and how these subjects’ joints differ from those of control persons.METHODS: Twenty former elite German marathon runners (active careers 1972-86) underwent clinical (FFbH-OA and AKSS ) and radiographic (hip and knee joints, Kellgren and Lawrence classification) examination. X-Rays of the hip joints were compared with those of controls matched for age, gender and BMI who did not engage in much sport.RESULTS: In the group of former elite marathon runners, 3 of the 38 knee joints for which comparison with control joints was possible were found to be affected by grade 2 osteoarthritis. In the same group, severe osteoarthritis (Kellgren and Lawrence grade 3) was documented in 1 and moderate osteoarthritis (grade 2) in 6 of the 28 hips for which direct comparison against the controls was possible, as against 1 hip affected by grade 2 osteoarthritis in the entire control group. The clinical evaluation showed high scores in all athletes.CONCLUSIONS: Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is rare in former elite marathon runners. The risk of osteoarthritis of the hip joint seems to be higher than in control subjects who do not engage in much sport.
PMID: 16932832
**1: **J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2006 Jun;106(6):342-5. Links Does long-distance running cause osteoarthritis?
· Cymet TC,
· Sinkov V.
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Owings Mills, MD 21117-4713, USA. tcymet@lifebridgehealth.org
There is a dose-response relationship between physical activity and the reduced risk of some diseases (eg, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus). At a certain “dose,” however, the reduced risk of some diseases may be offset by an increased risk of injury and osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis can be caused by trauma to, or overuse of, the joints. Sports injuries often occur as a result of dysfunctions in balance or the musculoskeletal system operating in nonneutral mechanics. It is unclear if long-distance running causes the knee and hip joints to deteriorate. The results of animal studies reveal a pattern of increased incidence of arthritis in these joints when there is a history of injury or use in atypical environments (eg, laboratory settings). Human studies show an increase in radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis in endurance sports athletes, but no related increase in symptoms reported. Although there are not currently enough data to give clear recommendations to long-distance runners, it appears that long-distance running does not increase the risk of osteoarthritis of the knees and hips for healthy people who have no other counterindications for this kind of physical activity. Long-distance running might even have a protective effect against joint degeneration. The authors recommend further study.
PMID: 16790540
**1: **Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 Feb;84(2):122-30. Links Sports-related knee injuries in female athletes: what gives?
· Dugan SA.
Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL 60614, USA.
Knee injuries occur commonly in sports, limiting field and practice time and performance level. Although injury etiology relates primarily to sports specific activity, female athletes are at higher risk of knee injury than their male counterparts in jumping and cutting sports. Particular pain syndromes such as anterior knee pain and injuries such as noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur at a higher rate in female than male athletes at a similar level of competition. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries can be season or career ending, at times requiring costly surgery and rehabilitation. Beyond real-time pain and functional limitations, previous injury is implicated in knee osteoarthritis occurring later in life. Although anatomical parameters differ between and within the sexes, it is not likely this is the single reason for knee injury rate disparities. Clinicians and researchers have also studied the role of sex hormones and dynamic neuromuscular imbalances in female compared with male athletes in hopes of finding the causes for the increased rate of ACL injury. Understanding gender differences in knee injuries will lead to more effective prevention strategies for women athletes who currently suffer thousands of ACL tears annually. To meet the goal in sports medicine of safely returning an athlete to her sport, our evaluation, assessment, treatments and prevention strategies must reflect not only our knowledge of the structure and innervations of the knee but neuromuscular control in multiple planes and with multiple forces while at play.
PMID: 15668560
**1: **Clin J Sport Med. 2005 Jan;15(1):14-21. Links Hip muscle weakness and overuse injuries in recreational runners.
· Niemuth PE,
· Johnson RJ,
· Myers MJ,
· Thieman TJ.
Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, Provo, UT, USA. peniemuth@stkate.edu
OBJECTIVE: To test for differences in strength of 6 muscle groups of the hip on the involved leg in recreational runners with injuries compared with the uninvolved leg and a control group of noninjured runners. DESIGN: Descriptive analysis. SETTING:: Three outpatient physical therapy clinics in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty recreational runners (17 female, 13 male) experiencing a single leg overuse injury that presented for treatment between June and September 2002. Thirty noninjured runners (16 female, 14 male) randomly selected from a pool of 46 volunteers from a distance running club served as controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-report demographic information on running habits, leg dominance demonstrated by preferred kicking leg, and injury information. Muscle strength of the 6 major muscle groups of the hip was recorded using a hand-held dynamometer. The highest value of 2 trials was used, and strength values were normalized to body mass(2/3). RESULTS: Results comparing the injured and noninjured groups showed that leg dominance did not influence the leg of injury (chi(2)(1) = 0.134; P = 0.71). Correlations for internal reliability of muscle measurements between trials 1 and 2 with the hand-held dynamometer ranged from 0.80 to 0.90 for the 6 muscle groups measured, and all P values were less than 0.0001. No significant side-to-side differences in hip group muscle strength were found in the noninjured runners (P = 0.62-0.93). Among the injured runners, the injured side hip abductor (P = 0.0003) and flexor muscle groups (P = 0.026) were significantly weaker than the noninjured side. In addition, the injured side hip adductor muscle group was significantly stronger (P = 0.010) than the noninjured side. Duration of symptoms was not a contributing factor to the extent of injury as measured by muscle strength imbalance between injured and uninjured sides. CONCLUSIONS: Although no cause-and-effect relationship has been established, this is the first study to show an association between hip abductor, adductor, and flexor muscle group strength imbalance and lower extremity overuse injuries in runners. Because most running injuries are multifaceted in nature, areas secondary to the site of pain, such as hip muscle groups exhibiting strength imbalances, must also be considered to gain favorable outcomes for injured runners. The addition of strengthening exercises to specifically identified weak hip muscles may offer better treatment results in patients with running injuries.
**1: **Md Med J. 1996 Aug;45(8):641-4. Links Does running exercise cause osteoarthritis?
· Lahr DD.
Although numerous health benefits are associated with running, relatively little is known about long-term effects on the musculoskeletal system. Running places a great deal of repetitive stress on the joints and supporting structures of the lower extremities. Through animal and clinical studies, investigators have attempted to determine whether running exercise causes osteoarthritis. Available evidence indicates that moderate running in individuals without anatomical variances poses no increased risk for the development or acceleration of osteoarthritis. Runners with abnormal anatomy and those with significant previous injury are at increased risk for the development and progression of lower extremity osteoarthritis.
**1: **Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb. 2004 Mar-Apr;142(2):213-20. Links
· Walther M,
· Kirschner S.
Lehrstuhl fur Orthopadie der Universitat Wurzburg. m-walther.khl@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
AIM: The study was performed to investigated correlations between running and degenerative arthritis of the hip, according to the principles of evidence-based medicine. METHOD: The database Medline, the Cochrane Library, the centre for Evidence Based Medicine in Oxford and the sports science database Spolit, Spofor and Spowis were scanned systematically for the keywords “arthritis, osteoarthritis, degenerative, hip, sports, running, jogging, walking”. RESULTS: 10 retrospective case control studies and 3 prospective studies were included for further analysis. The clinical examinations reported in the prospective studies did not reveal a significant difference between runners and non-runners. In one study a slightly increased risk for signs of arthritis at the X-ray was found in runners below 50 years with a very high mileage. No increased risk for degenerative arthritis was reported in most of the retrospective studies. A few authors of retrospective studies reported a slightly to moderately increased risk. The pooled estimate of the included studies showed a slightly increased risk for degenerative arthritis in runners (pooled OR 1.24 95 % CI 0.87-1.85). However, the increased risk did not reach a level of statistical significance. The graphic analysis of the data with the technique of the funnel plot gives an OR of 1.04. CONCLUSION: There is no evidence that running is associated with an increased risk for degenerative arthritis of the hip. There is no evidence for a different risk in men and women.
