Why do some doctors not recommend running?

People often tell me that when they go to the hospital for a checkup, the doctor advises not to run, while some doctors keep preaching that "exercise is good medicine". Who should we listen to?

It is possible that some colleagues still believe that "running has only benefits but harms the knees", but with the development of medicine, especially the rise of sports medicine, most doctors have accepted the view that "running not only does not harm the knee joints, but is beneficial to the health of the knee joints."

So why do some doctors not recommend running? There is a concept called "survivor bias" here.

People who are not injured from running or who benefit from running will not come to the hospital. Those who come here are those with various health problems. As doctors see more patients, they will subconsciously be wary of running. Moreover, for injured patients, running does require more caution and care.

Some people may ask, 1. Since so many people get injured while running, why do we still run? 2. If there is a chance of getting injured while running, isn’t it safer not to run?

Running is good for the body and mind, but the premise is to run "correctly". Running is a science (both a technique and an art), and you can only benefit from it through "learning-practice-reflection-relearning". For example, in response to various traffic accidents, the correct advice is to let everyone obey traffic rules and drive safely, rather than not to drive.

Will the body not get hurt if we don't exercise? In fact, our body itself has a degeneration mechanism. For example, the skeletal system has osteoblasts and osteoclasts. If you lie in bed without exercise, the action of osteoclasts will dominate, causing bone loss, thus causing "disuse osteoporosis" and "disuse muscular atrophy". If you don't exercise, the body will not remain the same, but will be "injured" in another way - "accelerated degeneration".

Similarly, "survivor bias" also exists among runners. Many people open their phones and feel that they are full of "running masters", who often run "half marathons" or "full marathons", and their worst pace is about 5 minutes. In fact, most people don't run. Not many people can run 5 kilometers or 10 kilometers, and even fewer can complete a marathon. Only those with good results will post screenshots of their results.

In summary, running has more advantages than disadvantages, and the saying that "running hurts the knees" has long been proven to be wrong. But you must learn and practice the correct way to run. At the same time, running is not the same as running a marathon, so don't be "led astray" by the content on social media.