OPINION: Is running really bad for your joints?

OPINION: Is running really bad for your joints?

Published 5:30 am Tuesday, September 15, 2026

We all have a friend or family member who quit running because they feared damaging their knees. Or, maybe that person is you? It is not rare to see people choosing the bike or the pool instead to avoid overloading their joints.

There’s no denying that runners often get injured. Based on several studies, roughly 50 per cent of runners will sustain an injury any given year, with the knee being the most commonly injured body part. After all, forces applied to the knee while running can reach up to 6 to 8 times your body weight, so it is far from crazy to think that running would be bad for joints.

As a physiotherapist and researcher with a PhD in running and knee pain, I get to answer the same questions every single day that I’m in the clinic:

 Is there a better way to run so I can reduce impact on my joints?
 Will highly cushioned shoes help with my pain?
 Are marathons dangerous for my joints?
 What about ultra-marathons?
 What if I’m 65 years old?
 If I keep running after getting diagnosed with osteoarthritis, will I need joint replacement surgery sooner than if I quit my favourite activity?
 Can I still run after having my knee or hip joint replaced?

In a partnership between the KGH Foundation, MoveMed Physiotherapy and Wilden’s Wild One race, there will be a fundraising public lecture which will address all these questions.

Discover what the latest research shows, and learn about the latest studies from our group at UBC, which studies the effects of running in people with knee osteoarthritis. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A session, where all your questions will be answered.
At KGH on Thursday, Sept. 17, between 6 and 7:30 p.m. an event will be held where your biases will be challenged, all for a good cause. All proceeds will be donated to the Wilden Legacy Fund (administered through the KGH Foundation), which funds youth mental health initiatives right here in
Kelowna.

Note that the lecture will be recorded. Those who can’t attend in person can still register and will get the link to the recording sent after the event.

Jean-Francois Esculier, PT PhD
Co-Founder, MoveMed Physiotherapy
Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, UBC