Is running bad for my knees? Does BMI matter? | The Rehab Centre
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Is running bad for my knees? Does BMI matter?

23rd Jan, 2023

BMI. I’m sure we have all heard about it at some point in our life. Perhaps during a medical checkup or in school?

So what exactly is BMI?

Body Mass Index (BMI) is traditionally used to categorise the population into weight categories: Underweight, healthy, overweight and obese. It is widely used as a screening tool, however, it is not used as a diagnostic tool.

THE BMI FORMULA:

BMI = weight (kg) / height (m)2

☝🏼But how accurate is BMI in determining our body fat level? 

Although high BMI is correlated to higher body fat, it may hold true for all. We have to understand that body composition matters too. 

An athlete may have a high BMI and fall under the ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’ category. However, we have to take into account that an athlete may have higher lean muscle mass, compared to fat. 💪🏻

Therefore, it is important for us to take into consideration other factors and not rely on BMI alone!

Does BMI matter when it comes to running injuries?

It may sound logical that one with a higher BMI is putting more stress on his/her knee joints during running, which potentially increases risk of getting injured overtime. 

But what if this has been a MYTH? 🧐

A comparative study has found that runners with different BMIs had different injury location distributions. Interestingly, the running-related knee injury proportion in overweight and obese runners was lower than that in normal-weight runners. Then arguably, BMI may influence the runner’s choice of running exposure. A difference in running exposure may then perhaps influence the amount of load applied to the knee while running. 

All in all, there is no substantial evidence to show higher risk of injuries in runners with higher BMI. 

🏃What should we be focussing on to prevent running injuries? Can Physiotherapy help?

Well, runners are generally especially prone to  developing overuse injuries. It has been shown that two of the greatest risk factors are previous injury and training volume. 

Although we definitely cannot control the former, we can still modify our training volume (i.e. distance, speed, frequency of run)! 

It is recommended for runners to participate in cross-training activities (e.g. swimming, cycling) in order to maintain fitness while not overloading the knee. 🚴🏊🕺

Also, avid runners might consider running injury prevention exercises so that you can avoid a trip to the clinic to see us! 

Contact us and have a chat with us should you have any queries with regards to any running related knee injuries

Ref: 

Taunton, J.; Ryan, M.; Clement, D.; McKenzie, D.; Lloyd-Smith, D.; Zumbo, B., A retrospective case-control analysis of 2002 running injuries. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2002, 36, 95-101.

Kozinc, Ž., & Sarabon, N. (2017). Common running overuse injuries and prevention. Montenegrin Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 6(2), 67.

Juhler, C., Andersen, K. B., Nielsen, R. O., & Bertelsen, M. L. (2020). Knee Injuries in Normal-Weight, Overweight, and Obese Runners: Does Body Mass Index Matter?. journal of orthopaedic & sports physical therapy, 50(7), 397-401.

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