Worst sports for knee injuries

David Banks
Authored by David Banks
Posted: Wednesday, January 5, 2022 - 12:41

Your knees go through a lot on a daily basis. They support as much as eighty percent of your overall body weight, and they are used for walking, running, sitting, standing, and pretty much anything else you can think of that involves movement. Even if you have a relatively sedentary job, you’ll still need to use your knees multiple times a day. It’s no wonder that they can become sore and damaged over time.

If you add to all this movement any kind of exercise or sport, you are increasing the chances of developing a knee injury. However, don’t let this put you off getting fit; just because there is a reasonably high chance of hurting your knee playing a certain kind of sport, there are also ways to mitigate the risk. Knowing which sports are worst for knees is a good start, as you can decide how much risk you’re willing to take. Read on to find out more.

Running

Running is extremely good for you. In fact, it’s one of the healthiest sports you can take up. Plus, it doesn’t cost a lot – you won’t need any specialist equipment; you’ll just need to invest in high-quality running shoes and knee support from podobrace.co.uk.

The need for good shoes should be obvious – the better protected your feet are, the further and longer you can run. However, what about the knee brace? The reason is simple; although running is very good for you, it’s extremely hard on the knees. After all, you are moving your knees constantly, and the impact of your foot hitting the road or trail, even if they are cushioned somewhat by good shoes, will certainly cause your knees to sustain damage. A knee support will help reduce this issue.

Basketball

Basketball is the kind of sport that looks easy, but that is actually extremely difficult to become highly skilled in. Despite this, many people enjoy playing for fun, if not professionally. Because of this, it’s important to know that, perhaps surprisingly, basketball is one of the worst sports for your knees.

When you think about it, this makes a lot of sense; when you are playing basketball, you are constantly running back and forth on the court, but that’s not all. You are also having to stop instantly, change direction, and, of course, jump. Plus, it’s easy to lose your balance and fall when playing this game as it’s so fast. All of this means that your knees can easily suffer.

Football

Football is probably the first sport you’ll think of when you consider what might be worst for knee injuries. If you watch football, you will see players fall to the ground, clutching their knees. Although some of this is for show, of course, that doesn’t negate the fact that knee injuries are certainly common, and they can end footballing careers in some cases.

Often it’s the kneecap that is most badly affected. This is because the action of running and then kicking the ball is actually unnatural, and it can mean the kneecap is moved in a way that it was never designed to be moved.

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