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Anecdote for any runners reading this: I'm a 75 year old runner. (Some young runners might say I run at a jogger's pace, I just tell them to keep off my lawn.)
A couple decades ago, I stopped running on concrete or asphalt, and took up trail running, i.e. running on (mostly) dirt. It feels way easier than running on asphalt, much less on concrete. If you're skeptical that running on concrete or asphalt feels harder, give it a try. YMMV, but I'd bet you notice a difference.
And yes, I do fall sometimes, tripping over roots or rocks. But I recover quickly.
By steve_adams_86 2026-01-054:172 reply I switched to trail and found I stopped getting injuries related to lateral stabilization of my hips and legs.
I've come to think it's because the trails challenge those stabilizers sufficiently so they get trained properly rather than... I don't know, repeatedly being irritated by running too straight for long periods of time?
I'm not a kinesiologist so I have no idea what the real difference is, but I do know I get hurt far less on the trails than I did on pavement.
One possibility is that I go slower overall so I can't push the limits of some muscle and tendon groups like I could on pavement. Everything gets more equally pressured, but less on average.
By djmips 2026-01-0512:51 I've thought the same thing. I always feel more balanced when including the challenge of uneven terrain. When I was a kid I used to be able to run full speed through forrest litter.
By agumonkey 2026-01-0521:03 Interesting, as if a narrow kind of stimulus is detrimental to biomechanics, while diverse terrain, even if more challenging, keeps each angle of motion hit below the limit
You're not wrong, but most of us don't live near a good dirt running trail so we have to drive to reach the trail head. When we have to squeeze in a run on workdays it becomes a choice between running on the street versus not running at all. Mud is also a problem for trail running in areas that get much rain.
By formerphotoj 2026-01-0522:18 I recommend artificial turf soccer fields. They're padded! They're flat. They're good for watching games, or people watching too. And you can pretend to be a winger or striker, constantly measuring the angle and distance to the far right corner, because who doesn't want to be like the GOAT?
By mupuff1234 2026-01-0510:33 Treadmills are an option. I highly recommend manual treadmills, feels much more natural imo.
By clumsysmurf 2026-01-054:09 Yes, I noticed this too. I ran a lot in high school / university, and for some reason we mostly ran on the roads. In my late 20s a doctor told me my knees sounded like they were "65".
I read a book my Michael Colgan at the time, and he mentioned training athletes on the trails as much as possible to reduce injury, so I gave it a try ...
That was 25+ years ago. At first people looked at me strange, like I was running from an animal. But its common now, and I'm still running on the trail, and knees seem OK.
Yes of course, you can still trip, step on a snake, etc, but its a different kind of injury. You are adapting gait and balance constantly which is nice too.
Running on the trail is much more interesting, with constant change, ups, downs, variations. Whereas running on grass / asphalt I can go into autopilot mentally and start ruminating, this is harder on the trail and I am more in a state of "here and now".
Trail running is fun. But it’s probably not the surface but the technique change, that gets rid of the pain. I’m currently going through the process of shifting my running technique to where I push rather than pull myself forward and it’s a revelation. When your foot lands in front of your center of gravity, it necessarily brakes your forward movement. All that momentum has to go somewhere, eg get absorbed by your joints. Changing this makes you more efficient as well as reducing strain on the soft tissue.
This sounds interesting. Would you be able to share more information about this style of running? I'm having a hard time imagining how this plays out in real life.
Running barefoot forces you to improve your technique in line with this description. [0] There's also a sizeable market of "barefoot shoes" that's between being barefoot and the regular running shoes, with the manufacturers trying to convince us buying such shoes is the solution. The gait issue become more obvious (and painful) in barefoot shoes, but you can adjust your technique in mass-market running shoes as well.
By myvoiceismypass 2026-01-0520:10 I first found out about this back when Chris McDougall's "Born to Run" book came out. For anyone that does not know, he follows an Indian tribe in Mexico known for their running prowess, using non-traditional sandles to run in instead of the heavily padded sneakers most of us wear.
I switched briefly around that time to running in vibram five fingers, which trained me how to change my stride and stop heel striking. I no longer wear VFFs but do tend to favor lightweight, minimal heel-drop sneakers, and I still don't heel strike.
I'm not sure you can run with appropriate gait (stop heel striking) in modern mass market running shoes. The heels on many running shoes are 2 inches+ and make it just impossible to avoid heel striking without wasting a lot of motion picking your knees up.
Also, the chances of twisting your ankle when your heels are elevated that much from the road is far higher as well.
By cesnja 2026-01-075:09 Best marathon runners can do it in "conventional" running shoes [0], but I agree it's easier to find the better technique barefoot or in barefoot shoes.
By snowwrestler 2026-01-0512:53 I made this change as well. Specifically, I switched from heel strike to forefoot strike, AKA “landing on the ball of my foot.” I changed shoes to zero-drop (Altras) which makes this easier to do.
This sort of automatically limits how far in front of your hips you can land your foot. But then the next step is to change posture and “lean forward” so that it feels like you’re just barely catching yourself with each foot before falling on your face.
The goal is to have your foot land directly under you, then use your quads and glutes to push your foot backward, to create or maintain your forward momentum.
This is why I think trail running is so valuable. You must be aware of your changing environment and how to adjust your body's movement to accommodate. You are exercising your mind to calculate your current momentum, intended placement of your next step, and it's potential impact to the rest of your body. You are running your own mental physics simulation as you work the trail, nothing like running on regular roads.
By doubled112 2026-01-0614:50 This sounds a lot like why I find BMX racing less interesting than I thought I would.
It’s also why I make the kids ride elsewhere. Snow provides good physics lessons on traction and centre of gravity.
By mancerayder 2026-01-052:157 reply I'd worry about sprained ankles on a false step or a slippery leaf-rock trap. Is there a technical approach to running in these conditions?
By davkan 2026-01-055:20 You just get used to trail running over time. If you’re nimble and light on your feet a slip almost never turns into a fall. With practice you dodge the bad steps without much thought or you step knowing it’s iffy, slide and keep running. You don’t commit hard down on your heel.
The form i use basically the “natural” running style. Land with your body over your foot, land on your foot flat or on the ball. This is good for trail running because it’s much easier to not commit to a step when you’re not planting hard with your heel.
I’ve never sprained an ankle trail running, not that it can’t happen. I’ve gone like 90 degrees on my ankle before but I can usually unweight and collapse on that leg and catch myself on the other leg and keep running. I run in sandals and I backpack in trail runners.
Trail running strengthens your ankles what with all the uneven ground that has to be compensated for.
By snowwrestler 2026-01-0513:03 For me the biggest insight was that there is no rule I have to be “running” 100% of the time when trail running. If some part of the trail seems sketchy it’s totally fine to just slow down there and do that part carefully. Then speed up to running again on safer parts.
You’re still getting almost all of the cardio benefits, and over time you’ll get more comfortable going faster on different surfaces, just from practice.
By ImPleadThe5th 2026-01-053:20 I've heard it's actually beneficial for your ankles long term to get some tilt/pan on them. It reduces your chances of injury by strengthening the twitch muscles in your ankle and legs.
Important to note the point is "trail running" not "alpine running", gravel and dirt vs, steep inclines and big rocks.
Anecdotally, just adjust your pace/length until you're comfortable. I've always done mixed asphalt/dirt-trail and there is a notable difference in my knee fatigue when there is a bigger ratio of one or the other, would always prefer a nice gravel or dirt over the road.
By dahcryn 2026-01-0510:11 many people try to go too much around puddles, bits of mud, rocks, ... Switching direction is what makes you slip/fall.
Sometimes, you should just focus on going straight, or at least keep your center of mass relatively going in a smooth line.
Yes, sometimes that means going through a puddle or do a small jump, but I find it much safer. Of course, on a potential slippery surface, try to make that 1 step lower impact, basically like an in-between step. This can also imply vary big changes to your cadence, which is not always optimal from aerobic perspective.
By mcswell 2026-01-0619:57 OP here. I've fallen many times, but never sprained my ankle. Usually if I have an injury from a fall at all, it's that I've skinned my knee or the palms of my hands (you can wear fingerless leather gloves if you're worried about that).
I have had two injuries that required medical attention. Dislocated my pinky finger once.
The other time I was crossing a wet wooden bridge. On the down-slope of that bridge, my feet went out from under me and I fell on my back. It hurt, so I walked a mile or so back to my car. Hadn't gotten better after a few days, so I checked in at an ER. Turns out I had cracked a rib, and that had caused a small pneumothorax. I was in the hospital for three days while they suctioned it and waited for the lung to heal. (The MD was amazed at my ability to breathe well despite everything.) When I come to that bridge now, I change to a walk.
By belZaah 2026-01-057:08 You can exercise your ankles so they are less likely to crumble if forced into an awkward position. Also look at where your feet land compared to each other: if one is almost ahead of the other (think camel stride), your foot is to the left (or right) of its hip and is thus naturally bent outwards. Having your foot land more squarely compared to how the body weight works, reduces the strain on the ankle. If the inside of your ankle/sock is always dirty after a run, this is why. Am currently going through the process of fixing this on myself.
Trailrunning is less harsh on joints for sure, but certainly not easier based on the times of anyone who's run trail vs road events over any distance.
Mud, obstacles, and terrain that hasn't been bulldozed and rolled to be pan-flat make it much slower.
By mcswell 2026-01-0619:49 I'll take that excuse for slow runs! But seriously, I don't run in training for speed, I run for fun and for fitness. And the uphills on the trails certainly help with that.
I tried swapping running with cycling for a few months but honestly as somebody who spends a good portion of my time on my ass, often with suboptimal posture in front of a screen I hate the idea of exercising still sitting on my ass with bad posture.
The most important thing imo is to find a form of cardio you enjoy. It's not worth stressing over the differences between forms of cardio just find something you like and make it a part of your lifestyle.
Reagarding knee injuries, sure intense running with bad form is more likely to get you an overuse injury but those heal quickly, long term studies don't show increased knee/hip risk for runners.
Strength exercises are also very important for runners. Getting all the muscles arounf your hips, knees and ankles stronger significantly reduces the chance and severity of injuries and has a ton of other benefits.
By prmoustache 2026-01-0510:36 If you are sitting on your ass (as in the normal definition of buttocks) when cycling, you are doing it wrong or you are riding a recumbent.
Typically you sit on the part in front of your hip, which also has its downsides as it is quite a delicate area where pressions on the wrong area could lead to issues.
By sandos 2026-01-0512:05 MTB is the solution here. You can't really sit down when it gets a bit rough.
>"Why not take up cycling?"
I was a cycling maniac for some time. It fucks one up (knees, back, elbows) anyways. After 10 years of that I cut it down to occasional pleasure rides. Luckily all my pains had stopped after a couple of years.
By carbonbioxide 2026-01-056:015 reply isn't jogging more impactful to the knees than cycling? I've seen this over and over.
By tybit 2026-01-057:39 Yes, but it’s a common misconception that impact is a bad thing.
The body, including bones, muscles, tendons and joints, adapt to stress. Many people do too little, not too much, as they get older.
There’s a limit to that recovery of course, and balancing it with stress is not always simple.
I no longer regularly jog / run / cycle, only occasionally for pleasure. I either swim or hike steep hills or if weather is ugly just put treadmill on 15% incline and walk very fast for an hour or so. Wastes energy like crazy and leaves my knees intact.
By prmoustache 2026-01-0510:40 I think diversifying the physical activities is a good thing.
Also avoiding using your domotics, motorized vehicles, elevators and escalators, kitchen/cleaning robots/electric devices when there are manual replacement as well as not using domotic, does a super job on its own.
People have become lazy, pretend they don't have time to do stuff, then have to actually dedicate additionnal time so that their body doesn't suffer from their lazyiness. This is bonkers.
One day my brother saw me shirtless and asked me if I was going to the gym. I said no, I just have 2 young kids, carry my groceries including cat litter by foot, use a shovel to clear snow, use a manual coffee grinder and kitchen whisk and only use my car when it would take me more than 1 hours / 30kms by bicycle, etc. And I had an office job. Being active, fit and healthy shouldn't involve having to "exercise".
By kakacik 2026-01-059:42 There is the downhill part of the hikes, unless you have ski lifts or similar way of getting down. I used to do running a bit before major paragliding accident, and I hiked like there is no tomorrow and still do... subjectively the hiking down part felt more stressful on knees than running (maybe not on concrete/tarmac).
By riku_iki 2026-01-0523:14 > isn't jogging more impactful to the knees than cycling? I've seen this over and over.
my brief reading of studies shows there is no proven negative impact on knees from running. Some studies suggest there is positive impact: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11320545/
I can speculate that running is very natural to human, and body evolved for running through the evolution, and cycling is not natural movement.
By kaffekaka 2026-01-057:14 Running absolutely impacts the knees, but the compression of meniscus for example is what circulates nutrients into it so some impact is necessary for healthy knees as well.
A poorly adjusted cleat is absolute hell on the knee.
It can be difficult to fix too as once your knee is sore it takes ages to come right so it’s not clear if adjusting the cleat is working.
By prmoustache 2026-01-0510:372 reply Most people don't need clipless pedals and only do that to mimick pros or because they were told to by other cyclists.
This is stupid (saying that as an ex elite road, track and cyclocross racer).
By lostlogin 2026-01-0513:41 Maybe not, do what suits but I find it helps, particularly over longer distances or up hills.
I’ve never tried real cleats, I just use mounting biking ones, spd. Doubled sided pedals seem easier in traffic and I use them for a decidedly non-pro 2-300km a week.
By FpUser 2026-01-0516:22 I used both and do not see much difference in efficiency. clipless do feel somewhat nicer but that was just a habit. Do not use those any more
By prmoustache 2026-01-0510:391 reply it is mostly poor fit that fucks one up but sadly very few bike shops offer decent fit/positionning before and after sale service.
>"it is mostly poor fit that fucks one up"
This what they all say to sell "custom fit" services. I now how to fit and have access to pro level fit rig.
By prmoustache 2026-01-0517:31 Maybe not that well.
By steve_adams_86 2026-01-0519:20 I don't like the risk factor. I was a serious cyclist for a decade or so, and went tens of thousands of kilometers over all kinds of terrain at all hours of the day. My take away eventually was that I'd get hit by a car eventually (again), and I don't know how severe it would be. I only cycle with friends leisurely now rather than as a frequent form of exercise.
I live in a city where it's challenging to reach safe riding territory in a reasonable time frame. If I was rural and had access to trail riding (gravel, mountain), I think I'd be all over that.
By riku_iki 2026-01-0523:09 cycling looks like less whole body and more targeted exercise.
By anshumankmr 2026-01-054:431 reply Alternatively rubber tracks also are great, if you have one nearby.
By chakintosh 2026-01-059:53 Or just treadmills, I find them more gentle on my joints than concrete because it's slightly cushioned.
By linsomniac 2026-01-0417:5312 reply I have had fairly serious arthritis in my hips for close to a decade now. Cortizone shots directly into the joint have helped the worst of the flare-ups (limping on my way into the shot, having 0 pain walking out of it, lasting a year).
5+ years ago when I was looking for another injection, my PCP said "Well, time for a hip replacement." Now, for reasons I don't understand I think he was being way premature on that (everyone I'd talked to prior to that had said I should wait as long as I can, and it'd been 2+ years since my last shot).
But I'd pretty much accepted that hip pain was just a part of my life, (especially in the morning) picking something off the floor was painful, just walking and in particular walking stairs was just a little painful.
A few weeks ago I tried some stretches I saw on Youtube shorts. Like a minute a day. It's like I've got new hips.
I've never been a very "compliant patient" when it comes to stretching, but that was mostly because I saw no benefits from it. But this one stretch was like a miracle!
Some anecdotal knowledge I can share on why they used to say wait as long as you can for a hip replacement:
We were told this was because it used to be that they could only do the hip replacement surgery once, and the replacement joint would only last around 20 years max.
So basically it had to be for the expected life span of the patient!
But now this is no longer true. Well, in Australia at least with access to modern replacement parts, surgical techniques and specialists!
I could be muddling it up a bit, so happy to be corrected :-)
By masklinn 2026-01-056:29 I recently got told something similar in Europe, and anecdotally anyone who’d had a hip replacement and waited on it regretted not doing it as soon as the doc told them.
By spaceman_2020 2026-01-0421:45 The body is very weird and finds ways to compensate
I had a football injury when I was 13 that badly damaged my knee meniscus (though I didn’t know it at that time). At 16, I had a complete menisectomy - total removal of the lateral meniscus in my right knee
I was told that I would need to get a transplant and/or new knees in 10-15 years. I was also told that I shouldn’t put too much strain on the knee
I’m now 38 and my knee is mostly…fine. I can run, squat a reasonable amount of weight, walk for miles. Only thing I can’t do is fast directional changes (like in football) or bending down on the lateral side of my right knee
My plan is to extend this as long as possible and hopefully in 10 years, they’ll have tech to fix this for good
By monster_truck 2026-01-0421:031 reply I'm constantly telling people to look up physical therapy movements/stretches for whatever they've got going on. Slept wrong? Tweaked your neck? You absolutely do NOT have to suffer with that until it goes away on its own, they can show you how to fix it.
If your insurance covers it, go see one! Them being able to actually see and feel what's going on specifically with you makes them markedly better at their jobs.
By spaceman_2020 2026-01-0421:491 reply Can’t find the link now but a very comprehensive analysis of surgery vs physiotherapy for lower back issues found that physiotherapy was as effective as invasive, often dangerous spinal surgery. The only difference was time - surgery with recovery + recovery physio fixed the pain in about 4-6 months, while physiotherapy took 18-24 months
But on the plus side, physiotherapy is “free”, has no real risk, and most people who opted for the physiotherapy path found that they were happier and also fixed a lot of other pains simply because of regular stretching and exercise
By nmfisher 2026-01-0510:43 Would be great if you could find that link.
When doing stretches, don't forget the opposite side of the equation which is strength.
Not the "I'm going to bench 200lbs" type strength, but the musculature that supports movement.
It's quite easy to always focus on stretching, but not build the muscles that support good movement. You can turn yourself into a floppy noodle, which brings on more injury.
By RealityVoid 2026-01-059:42 The two kinds of strength are correlated and ability to push heavy weights is super useful. In my experience, it helps.
By throwaway7783 2026-01-0417:562 reply Please share which stretches helped you.
By linsomniac 2026-01-0420:321 reply These are the ones: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2gS8RYc9lus
"Frog Mobility" -- Get on hands and knees, spread knees but keep your feet closer together, rock back towards your heels and forward.
"Frog Cat/Cow" -- Same position as above, but tilt your pelvis; curve your back up then down.
"Tactical Frog" -- I haven't done this one yet, but it is frog mobility but with each rocking forward twist one of your feet up into the air; IOW rock back then as you rock forward keep one knee locked so that your calf/foot stays in the same relative position as you move forward.
By wizzwizz4 2026-01-0421:31 Every physical motion has other uses. (Obligatory xkcd: https://xkcd.com/940.)
By yjftsjthsd-h 2026-01-058:00 It's helpful to combine fitness with fun.
By SilentM68 2026-01-0418:45 These may not be the same as the one suggested above, but when I fell back in early 2025, my lower back, discs, spine got wrecked. I was sent to Physical therapy and was giving exercises similar to these which helped me, may help you. Keep in mind that it is not a cure... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wAw1-1MHa4
I f'd my knees running track in HS - i suspect some kind of structural problem that alters the way my knees move. Sr year wsa awful, i was just about crawling to class in the morning. MRIs showed nothing and I learned to live with it and eventually it got better when I stopped running.
10ish years later I had started riding my bike a lot during the dotcom explosion induced downtime, I kept it up after I was employed again. Knee pain came back. Went to the ortho again, this time was told "oh you have a torn meniscus, lets go fix it.
So I went under and woke up to be told that my meniscus was fine, and that I had worn grooves through the cartilage and into the bone - doc told me to never run, jump, ski, ride, etc. I was to sit on the couch.
Somehow I ended up taking karate, and the knees hurt for a bit, but the stretching we did helped loosen up my hams and quads. It didnt make the knee pain go away, but it made it tolerable in that it no longer affected my day to day.
By dw_arthur 2026-01-051:23 This has been my experience with every sports of weightlifting injury I've had and I'm in my 40s. The body wants to heal or at least compensate in some way. Light activity is often better than rest. I've got a knee that is acting up a little bit but I think I've figured out how to keep it healthy while running.
By charlie0 2026-01-0418:25 When you're a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. Good thing you were able to find a good alternative solution. I suspect a lot of ailments could be resolved with non-medical interventions, but there's little money to be made there and also, a lot of people want the perceived "easier" way out.
By dizhn 2026-01-0421:28 I had a similar thing happen. What multiple doctor visits could not even diagnose was fixed with resistance band side walks.
By callamdelaney 2026-01-0510:191 reply Hey, could I ask which stretch it was?
By linsomniac 2026-01-0515:14 Look for the reply with "Frog Mobility" in the body, I posted in reply to another comment.
By lebimas 2026-01-0419:55 Can you please share which stretches helped?
By tefkah 2026-01-068:11 thanks for sharing, that’s wild! i’ll definitely take stretching more seriously now
Cartilage is really the final frontier of health. If it wasn’t for joints going bad, people could stay very active and fit pretty much all their life, with consistent exercise and healthy weight.
I'd say spinal and optic nerve regeneration is more "final" than cartilage.
By deadbabe 2026-01-050:39 Well yea but not in terms of the amount of lives that will be improved.
By fuzztester 2026-01-0820:00 Alzheimer's and similar, matter a lot too. Brain controls body.
