Running for Health: How to Protect Your Joints as You Stay Active
Running strengthens your joints, muscles, and cardiovascular system. It can also extend lifespan and improve the quality of life. However, it may increase the risk of an injury, especially if you are new to exercise or have an underlying medical condition.
Physical activity is the single most important thing you can do to stay healthy. A simple activity, like walking or running for 10 minutes on most days of the week, can work wonders for your health and well-being.
Also Read: 5 Tips to Keep Your Joints Moving, One of the Keys to Maintaining Mobility
Strong scientific evidence shows that exercise can lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and joint problems. Besides, exercise can lower the risk of early death, irrespective of the cause, by up to 30%. (1)
Running for Health: What Are the Benefits?
Running is a high-impact activity involving repetitive jumping and landing. Regular running for about 10 minutes a day has several physical and mental health benefits.
It strengthens your heart and reduces the risk of heart disease. Besides, it improves sleep quality, strengthens your muscles and bones, and helps you maintain a healthy weight. Running helps lift your mood, boosts energy levels, and helps lower stress levels.
Related: Stress and Your Body: The Physical Toll of Modern Life and How to Manage It
Does running help extend lifespan?
Yes. Running can help you live a longer and healthier life.
Studies have consistently shown a positive association between running and longevity. For instance, according to a 2017 review, runners have a 45% lower risk of death from heart disease, and a 30% lower risk of death from any cause. (2)
Most notably, the researchers of the study found that these benefits could be reaped with only 5 to 10 minutes of running daily at around six miles per hour.
Running for Health: What Are the Potential Risks?
Does running break your joints, or should you run if you have joint pain? Find your answers here.
Running and knee pain: What’s the link?
The association between running and risk of joint conditions is complex and involves several other factors. These include age, body weight, history of injury, family history, and overall fitness level.
Moderate running poses no additional risk to your joints. However, it’s hard to define what’s moderate running. According to a 2017 analysis, running for about 30 minutes daily each week may be considered “moderate.” (3)
Interestingly, running may actually protect your joints by strengthening the cartilage, decreasing inflammation, nourishing the joints, and helping you maintain an ideal weight. (4)
Related: Cartilage Damage: What It Is, And What You Can to Protect Your Cartilage
While too much running can harm your joints, too little physical activity may be equally harmful. For example, researchers of a 2021 study found that being too inactive (less than 10 minutes of activity per week) may significantly increase the risk of developing osteoarthritis. (5)
Other studies show that short-term running is not associated with worsening of osteoarthritis-related symptoms. And running is protective against generalized knee pain. (6,7)
Also Read: Gut Health and Joint Pain: Is There a Connection?
Should you run if you have knee pain?
You may choose to run but use caution.
For people with knee joint pain, low-impact activities, such as walking and cycling, are the best for joint function and quality of life, suggests a large 2025 study published in the journal BMJ. (8)
If you have knee pain and want to start running, talk to your GP first and follow their instructions. Ready to run? Start slow and gradually increase the duration of running, based on how your body responds. The best bet would be to start by running for about 15 to 25 minutes every other day.
What Are Common Running-related Injuries?
According to the NHS, common injuries among runners are knee pain, shin pain, Achilles pain, heel pain (plantar fasciitis). (9)
Knee pain
Runner’s knee is a common problem. It might feel like a dull or sharp pain in the kneecap or behind the kneecap. Avoid running if you have knee pain. Visit your physical therapist or talk to your GP; they will tell you when you can resume running.
Shin pain
Shin pain or shin splints cause pain on the front of the leg, starting from below the knee. The pain can be dull or sharp, depending on the severity. If you have shin pain, get advice from a physical therapist or your GP, stop running for a few weeks and start again.
Achilles pain
The achilles tendon is a tough band of connective tissue at the back of the ankle. It connects the muscle to the bone. Achilles pain can be continuous or sudden and sharp. The pain is often worse in the morning.
If the pain lasts for over 14 days, again, talk to your physical therapist or GP. Avoid running until the pain goes away.
Heel pain
Heel pain or plantar fasciitis causes pain in the heel or the bottom of the foot. Pain is usually sharp and occurs when you put stress on your foot. Avoid running while you have pain.
Tips to Protect Your Joints and Help Prevent Running Injuries
Whether you are a first-time runner or have been running for a while, the following tips can help lower the risk of injury and protect your joints.
Warm up, always
Before running, do slow and dynamic stretches for about 10 minutes. Focus on the muscles of your thighs and calves. Warm-up exercises increase body temperature, increase blood flow to the muscles, and relax your joints. Walking lunges are an example of dynamic stretching suited to runners.
Start slow
During the first few minutes of your running workout, run at a pace that allows you to have a conversation without shortness of breath. Once you get comfortable, increase the pace of your running.
Also, you don’t need to run for an hour everyday, especially if you have just started running. Start by running for about 15 to 25 minutes every other day. You may break your workout into short bursts of running followed by dynamic rest or active recovery.
Cross train
Do strength training two or three days a week to strengthen muscles that support running, such as your quads, glutes, calves, and hamstrings. You may also walk or jog during the non-running days.
Further Reading: Strength Training As We Age: The Importance for Tendons and Ligaments As Well As Strong Muscles and Bones
Choose your footwear wisely
Buy a pair of shoes that have cushioning and match your foot mechanics. Replace your shoes every 300 to 500 miles. Wrong shoes may increase your risk of getting Achilles pain, heel pain, shin splints, and fractures.
Watch the surface
Whenever possible, run on a clear, even, and smooth surface. Running on hard surfaces, such as concrete can increase the risk of injury to the knee joint and soft tissue.
Take a supplement to nourish your joints
When we think of joints, bones are the first thing to cross our mind. But bones make only a part of joints. What hold the bones in a joint are connective tissues, such as the tendons, cartilage, and ligaments.
It is well established that certain nutrients can nourish these tissues and help you maintain joint health. For example, nutrients like glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, Type II Collagen, vitamin D, vitamin C, and turmeric are revered for their joint health benefits.
CARTONICA is a liquid joint supplement which has a 6,000mg nutrient blend and includes all of these nutrients in a single serving, more than any tablet. Learn more about the role of each of these nutrients and their evidence-backed benefits HERE.
PHYSICOLL is another liquid supplement that delivers 12,000mg of four types of collagen, alongside vitamins A, C & E, zinc, manganese & copper. It is ideal for those who need an extra dose of nutrients, such as runners. Learn more about the role of each of these nutrients and their evidence-backed benefits HERE.
References:
- NHS. “Benefits of Exercise.” nhs.uk, 25 June 2026, www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercise-health-benefits.
- Lee, Duck-Chul, et al. “Running as a Key Lifestyle Medicine for Longevity.” Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, vol. 60, no. 1, Mar. 2017, pp. 45–55, doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2017.03.005.
- Alentorn-Geli, Eduard et al. “The Association of Recreational and Competitive Running With Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy vol. 47,6 (2017): 373-390. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.7137
- “Tips for Running Safely With Arthritis.” Arthritis Foundation, 7 Jan. 2026, www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/physical-activity/other-activities/tips-for-running-safely-with-arthritis.
- Master, Hiral et al. “Joint Association of Moderate-to-vigorous Intensity Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior With Incident Functional Limitation: Data From the Osteoarthritis Initiative.” The Journal of rheumatology vol. 48,9 (2021): 1458-1464. doi:10.3899/jrheum.201250
- Dhillon, Jaydeep et al. “Effects of Running on the Development of Knee Osteoarthritis: An Updated Systematic Review at Short-Term Follow-up.” Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine vol. 11,3 23259671231152900. 1 Mar. 2023, doi:10.1177/23259671231152900
- Hartwell, Matthew J et al. “Does Running Increase the Risk of Hip and Knee Arthritis? A Survey of 3804 Marathon Runners.” Sports health vol. 16,4 (2024): 622-629. doi:10.1177/19417381231190876
- Yan, Lei, et al. “Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Exercise Modalities in Knee Osteoarthritis: Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.” BMJ, vol. 391, Oct. 2025, p. e085242, doi:10.1136/bmj-2025-085242.
- “Knee Pain and Other Running Injuries.” nhs.uk, 15 Feb. 2024, www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/knee-pain-and-other-running-injuries.
