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Can marathon running improve knee damage of middle-aged adults? A prospective cohort study.

Horga, LM; Henckel, J; Fotiadou, A; Hirschmann, A; Torlasco, C; Di Laura, A; D'Silva, A; Sharma, S; Moon, J; Hart, A (2019) Can marathon running improve knee damage of middle-aged adults? A prospective cohort study. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med, 5 (1). e000586. ISSN 2055-7647 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000586
SGUL Authors: Sharma, Sanjay

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Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the short-term impact of long-distance running on knee joints using MRI. Methods: 82 healthy adults participating in their first marathon underwent 3T (Tesla) MRI of both knees 6 months before and half a month after the marathon: 71 completed both the 4 month-long standardised training programme and the marathon; and 11 dropped-out during training and did not run the marathon. Two senior musculoskeletal radiologists graded the internal knee structures using validated scoring systems. Participants completed Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score questionnaires at each visit for self-reporting knee function. Results: Premarathon and pretraining MRI showed signs of damage, without symptoms, to several knee structures in the majority of the 82 middle-aged volunteers. However, after the marathon, MRI showed a reduction in the radiological score of damage in: subchondral bone marrow oedema in the condyles of the tibia (p=0.011) and femur (p=0.082). MRI did also show an increase in radiological scores to the following structures: cartilage of the lateral patella (p=0.0005); semimembranosus tendon (p=0.016); iliotibial band (p<0.0001) and the prepatellar bursa (p=0.016). Conclusion: Improvement to damaged subchondral bone of the tibial and femoral condyles was found following the marathon in novice runners, as well as worsening of the patella cartilage although asymptomatic. This is the most robust evidence to link marathon running with knee joint health and provides important information for those seeking to understand the link between long distance running and osteoarthritis of the main weight-bearing areas of the knee.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Keywords: MRI, elderly people, knee injuries, marathon
SGUL Research Institute / Research Centre: Academic Structure > Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute (MCS)
Journal or Publication Title: BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med
ISSN: 2055-7647
Language: eng
Dates:
DateEvent
16 October 2019Published
29 September 2019Accepted
Publisher License: Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0
PubMed ID: 31673407
Go to PubMed abstract
URI: https://openaccess.sgul.ac.uk/id/eprint/111407
Publisher's version: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000586

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