In this article you will learn some common myths and misconceptions about treadmills, your health, and determine if is treadmill harmful for knees. You will also determine if you previously have had knee injuries in the past, which treadmill will be the best one for you.
By the end of this article I hope you come away with more knowledge about treadmills, how to use the properly without injury, as well as accomplishing your fitness goals.
Contents
Is Treadmill Harmful For Knees?
There are a few common myths about the impact of treadmill on knees like:
• Running on a treadmill is harmful to knees
• Knees are highly impacted by treadmill
• You should just walk on the treadmill
Running is one of the exercises that can be tough and high impact on your knees, whether you run on a treadmill or outdoors. When using a treadmill to improve your knee health you should know about its features. You can reduce harmful effects on your knees by using a treadmill moderately instead of being addicted to it.
So, no is the right answer to the question is treadmill harmful for knees unless you already have some knee problem. Running on a treadmill is less harmful than running on the road as the board beneath the treadmill belt can reduce the impact on your knees by absorbing shocks.
Treadmill running vs road running
Road running and treadmill running are not equal as treadmill running is easier of the two. When you run with the same speed on both the surfaces then road running can affect your metabolism more than treadmill running. Actually, in treadmill running the belt beneath your feet makes it easier for you to take the next step easier than running on the road.
Reasons for knee pain after treadmill running
If your knees are paining due to treadmill running then it can be due to various internal and external factors. Some of the external factors that can cause knee pain on treadmill may include too much use of a treadmill, your running skills are poor, your shoes are worn out or/and you quickly start running at a higher speed.
Weak or tight muscles of the calf, tight quadriceps muscles, poor muscle endurance, and strength, obesity, poor body balance, as well as rigid or flat foot can also be some of the internal reasons for stress on your knees after running on a treadmill.
Important features that a treadmill must have
While buying a treadmill you should focus on a few important features so that you can use it easily without damaging your knees. These features should include:
• Padding on the belt of the treadmill as it can protect the health of your knees by providing them a proper cushioning and absorbing impacts
• You usually incline on the treadmill to shorten your stride while starting to run on it as it can ultimately make your knees more stressed.
• The running surface of the treadmill should be wide and long enough to reduce the risk of injuries while running on it. it should adjust your strides in a natural manner.
• Instead of running on the front part of the treadmill to shorten your strides, you should run in its central part by taking strides in a natural manner
How to reduce the risk of injuries
• Before starting to run on a treadmill you should get your muscles and joints examined by an expert to ensure the safety of your knees
• You can reduce the wearing of your knees by restricting your treadmill session to not more than 30 minutes.
• If weather conditions are suitable then instead of a treadmill you should try running outdoors as it will help you in balancing your cyclic movements on the treadmill.
• You should safely stretch your muscles by doing a few warm-up exercises like jumping or jogging for a few minutes before starting on the treadmill every day
• You should also do stretching exercises after running the treadmill to help in supporting the flexibility of your knees.
• The shoes you wear during treadmill sessions should be able to absorb shocks.
• If your feet have flat arches then your shoes must have additional support to support your feet adequately.
• You can reduce the risk of damaging your knees just by avoiding running in vertical motion commonly used by treadmill users. You should lean forward in a natural manner for this purpose.
• You should increase the duration and intensity of treadmill running gradually
• You can prevent pain in your knees stretching your muscles for a long time at a low intensity
• After every year or running up to 800 miles you should change your running shoes
