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According to a recent study young men were 25% more likely to injure themselves if they were joggers or runners than if they were walkers. And the greater the intensity of the running, the higher the risk of injuries such as tibia stress syndrome, Achilles tendon injuries and plantar fasciitis.
It was found that over 50% of runners get some kind of injury due to their exercise regime. But, when it comes to walkers, only about 1% are injured by their exercise. This is because running puts more pressure on your body and joints and you are hitting the ground at more than twice the force that you would while walking. Going at a higher speed also makes it more likely for you to trip, slip or fall during your run.
High-intensity activity puts more pressure on joints and can lead to a larger risk of injury. Long-distance runners are more susceptible to developing infections, Dr. Uwe Schutz, from University Hospital of Ulm, Germany, told Reuters Health.
Keeping the risk factors aside, there are also plenty of rewards of running. Regular jogging and running can lower your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Research also implies that joggers tend to live longer than their non-jogging counterparts. A growing body of research suggests the best way to lose weight is to run. People expend 2.5 times more energy running than walking, whether on the track or treadmill. When equal amounts of energy were expended (walkers spent more time exercising), runners still lost more weight.
These all does not imply that walking is not beneficial. Many health experts back the low-intensity form of exercise, saying that it helps to keep disease at bay and can prolong your life.
So what’s the answer? According to Peter Schnohr, a clinical cardiologist, there isn’t really a concrete conclusion. He was quoted saying, “Running moderately prolongs life more than walking does.” The key word there is “moderately.” He added that there is a new research that warns that very high-intensity exercise could contribute to heart problems.
So the key with exercise, as with most things, is moderation. Don’t go overboard with the activity if you can’t handle it. At the same time, getting too little activity of very low intensity won’t do you much good either.
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