Treadmills are one of the most popular and useful equipment that people can use. Since it is a cardiovascular equipment, it can be found in the houses of many people even if they do not do a serious workout. It can also be used by people of any age, whether they are children or adults.
However, sometimes people tend to complain that they are experiencing pain in their knees from running on a treadmill. In this article, I will discuss in detail “Is running on a treadmill bad for your knees” and other related topics to provide you a complete idea about it.
Is Running On A Treadmill Bad For Your Knees
Treadmills can be a very useful equipment for training your entire body and developing your cardiovascular system. It is especially useful since you can change the intensity and angle of elevation of the platform. This allows you to increase your resistance training gradually.
Treadmills also allow you to get a daily dose of running or jogging within the comfort of your house. Whether it is raining outside or you just don’t feel like it, you can run inside your house with the same results.
Using a treadmill for jogging or running can put more stress on your knees compared to an elliptical, even though they exert approximately the same amount of force. However, treadmills are more user-friendly and easier to get used to.
Even though it should not cause you any pain, you may experience some degree of it when you use an intensity level that you are not used to. Usually while running outside, you can choose to slow down your legs or speed up at your own pace. Nevertheless, when you are on a treadmill, running constantly at a set intensity for a long while can be challenging.
This is especially difficult when the platform is inclined. If the treadmill is elevated to an angle, it causes people to run on their toes. As a result, their knees take in more force due to the position and movement.
However, this can be fixed very easily with a little practice. A smart way to do this is by walking slowly on the treadmill before starting to run. This helps you attain a perfect stride.
When you are running on a treadmill, you should focus on slower and longer runs, instead of pushing yourself beyond your limits. With these tweaks, you can have a much better and effective session, which also is not as stressful for your knees.
For this reason, running on a treadmill is not necessarily bad on your knees, as long as you are doing it the proper way.
Disadvantages Of Treadmill
While there are some advantages to a treadmill, it also has a handful of drawbacks.
The first one is that a treadmill can be very expensive. Even the basic models start from 2000 dollars for each unit. The price only goes higher if you want upgraded models with more functionalities. This is a very huge price to pay for something you can do for free on the sidewalks of a road.
Secondly, a treadmill can take up a lot of space. It can be approximately as big as a regular sofa set. The models are sized 30 by 70 inches on average.
This equipment requires proper maintenance. It should be checked at least once a week and is best left at the hands of a professional.
Some treadmills make loud noises during their operation. This can cause a disturbance in other people’s activities.
Finally, treadmills only allow cardiovascular exercises like running. Nevertheless, at a price like that, you could buy much better equipment which would allow a wider range of workouts. So many people may find it not worth the money.
How To Protect Your Knees On Elliptical
Many people choose the elliptical over the treadmill for various reasons. In the end, both lead to the same outcome despite having different mechanisms. However, the elliptical can also cause knee pain so I will be listing some ways you can reduce that.
As I have previously mentioned, you should always exercise according to what your body can handle. Testing your resistance can be great but it can also be one of the factors that is pulling you down with pain in your joints.
For this reason, you need to start with the lowest settings on any instrument and then gradually move forward. Slowly, when you find that your current resistance is too easy, then you can move on to a stronger resistance.
You can also try reducing the duration of your workout if you feel it is strenuous. Instead, try to do shorter periods of exercise more frequently. For example, you should do 30 minutes workout each day instead of an hour every two days. This reduces stress and maximizes your output.
There is no point in exercising if you do not eat right. When you exercise, your body demands certain nutrients to keep it in great shape. One of the most important ones is calcium, besides other nutrients. Calcium helps to keep your bone strong, reducing any possibilities of pain in your joints.
You can also take certain supplements directly if you do not like to take raw nutrients. You can make a healthy drink out of the supplements you need and enjoy it beside your exercise. However, I do not recommend taking any supplements without contacting a professional first.
What Exercises Are Good For Knees
The largest joint in the body is the knee joint. At the same time, it is also the most heavily used joint in the body on a daily basis. In this section, we will focus on what exercises are good for the knees and what you can do to strengthen your knees.
Leg lifts are a simple yet effective exercise to strengthen the knees. To do this, you need to lie flat on your back and raise one leg straight while bending your knee of your other leg. Alternate between the right and left legs accordingly.
Next, we have standing hamstring curls. For this, you need to stand with your knees close. Slowly lift one of your legs by bending your knees while keeping the other one straight. Hold onto a sturdy object for balance if needed.
You can also do step exercises, in which you alternately use each leg to climb up a stool. This is to mimic the movement up a stair. Once you move up with one leg, move back down and repeat with the other leg.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have tried to put all the information to make this article useful for everyone. Still, we believe answering the questions below will help better to know about keeping up with your knees. So let’s dig in—
How To Exercise With Bad Knees To Lose Weight?
If you have bad knees and are looking to reduce your weight, you need to stick to low impact cardio exercises. These include swimming, walking, and low resistance elliptical training.
What Exercises To Not Do With Bad Knees?
If you have bad knees you want to avoid all sorts of high impact workouts that focus on the lower body. These include running, lunging with weights, and squats.
How Can I Make My Knees Stronger?
If you are looking to strengthen your knees, you can do proper lower body workouts including those that were mentioned earlier in the guide. Also, remember to eat properly and keep a high calcium intake.
Is Cycling Good For Knees?
Yes, it can be definitely used as a good step towards building good knees. However, you are suggested to cycle at a slower pace as fast cycling can have a negative impact on your knees.
Is Swimming Good For Your Knees?
If you swim often, it will gradually help build up your leg muscle and improve knee strength. Subsequently, it also helps to relieve knee pain.
Wrapping It Up
That will be all for this guide. In this article, I have covered the answer to the question “Is running on a treadmill bad for your knees” and other relevant topics. I hope you have found the information valuable and worth your time.
Don’t leave your treadmill unused at the corner just because there are chances of getting hurt, just use it the proper way. Tread on your treadmill & be a winner! Keep grinding & stay safe!