2 weeks Ago By Clare-wilson
About 57,000 people are set to run the London Marathon this weekend, taking on the gruelling 26.2 mile course that winds and loops its way from the start near Greenwich to the finish at WestminsterSome may be apprehensive about such a huge physical challenge – especially first-timers or those who are not in the first flush of youth – and yet middle-aged and older people are running the famous race in increasing numbers.People are often warned that doing a marathon could damage their joints, including the knees and back.
However, experts say that endurance running not only boosts aerobic fitness but is also good for the joints – as long as new starters build up their abilities gradually, over several months.if(window.adverts) { window.
adverts.addToArray({"pos": "inread-hb-ros-inews"}); }So, how does running a marathon affect the body?Caption: Thousands of runners will take part in the London marathon on Sunday (Copyright: AFP or licensors)It is understandable that these distances have a reputation for being risky. They are a huge slog, with runners pounding the streets for an average of four-and-a-half hours.
Apart from the elite runners, most participants can barely walk afterwards, said Professor Alister Hart, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London.That was his experience when he did his first marathon 13 years ago: “I couldn’t walk [properly] for two weeks afterwards. Everyone said, ‘What do you expect? You can damage yourself.
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addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l1"}); }Such lingering effects are generally down just to sore muscles, which tend to recover within a couple of weeks. But the experience made Professor Hart curious about what happens inside the joints of marathon runners.Joint healthHis team has investigated the knees, hips and spines of marathon runners using MRI scanners, both before their training and after the race.
Across all three parts of the body, signs of what are usually seen as joint damage were common before training began – even though the subjects reported no symptoms. And these findings didn’t stop people from completing the race either.“It wasn’t a surprise that if you scan people in middle age, you’re going to find ‘damage’ in the knee,” said Professor Hart.
“What was a big surprise was the fact that this damage didn’t prevent them from training for a marathon and then running the marathon.”Another unexpected finding was that the condition of the joints as seen on the scans was generally even better after the race. For instance, in the back study, eight of the 28 participants initially had fluid in the bone marrow of the spinal vertebrae, a sign of stress.
But the condition had lessened in two people after the race.That might be because the training improved blood supply to the joints, or just because the running’s physical impact had strengthened the bones and muscles of the back, said Professor Hart. “We know that bone health reduces as you get older, and one way to counteract that is by increasing loading.
”The usual advice is that it takes about four months to train for a marathon. That’s how long it takes the muscles and joints to get in good enough shape, while the heart and circulatory system gets up to speed more quickly, he added.Heart riskPeople may also worry if their heart is in good enough shape to run 26 miles.
The London Marathon’s medical director, Professor Sanjay Sharma, a cardiologist at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south-west London, said people should get medical advice before training if they have any signs of being at higher risk – for instance, if they smoke, have a body mass index over 28 or a close relative has had a heart attack relatively young.if(window.adverts) { window.
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adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l2"}); }People do occasionally have heart attacks during endurance events but it is relatively rare, at a rate of about one per 60,000 participants, he said.On the other hand, regular running boosts the health of the circulatory system over the long term.
“People who exercise regularly reduce their risk of a heart attack by around 50 per cent in their 50s and 60,” said Professor Sharma.HeatstrokeA more common event during a marathon is heat illness, the severe form of which is also called heatstroke. Heat illness can happen on hot days even at rest, but it can also be caused by exercise, because our muscles produce heat as a byproduct.
Our bodies try to get rid of heat by sweating and sending more blood to the skin, but some people cannot do this well enough, or their bodies are worse at coping with the higher temperatures.Dehydration can also contribute, by impairing the ability to sweat, so runners are encouraged to make sure they drink enough.After running 26 miles, lying on the ground is appealing (Photo:Justin Tallis/AFP)A hallmark of heatstroke is that someone has a temperature of 40C or more and they are showing signs of brain dysfunction, such as confusion, aggression or seizures.
Many people get mild heat illness during marathons, with symptoms such as dizziness, muscle cramps and headache. This can usually be managed by basic measures like giving the person shade, water and wet towels.if(window.
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adverts) { window.adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l3"}); }If it develops into heatstroke, though, medics at this weekend’s marathon will use new devices similar to body bags that the person is zipped into, and then the bags are filled with icy water.
It can sometimes be tricky to persuade confused patients to co-operate, said Dr Todd Leckie, an anaesthetist at University Hospital Sussex, who helped develop the treatment. “Sometimes they can be quite combative and agitated, and you have to wrestle them into the bag,” he said. “It takes five or six people to initially manage the casualty.
But once they’re in the bag, they often just accept it, and they’re in this ice-cold cocoon.”There is only a small chance, of about one in 1,000, of anyone experiencing severe heat illness, though, so it shouldn’t put anyone off, said Dr Leckie. “Even if it happens to you, increasingly it will be treated very well and you’re unlikely to suffer any long term ill effects.
The benefits of exercise far outweigh the tiny risks.”.
