Professor Alister Hart, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at The London Clinic, is overseeing a new health research study that is looking at whether marathon running is good for the knees.

Using 3T MRI scanning technology, Professor Hart and the research team are finding evidence that taking up distance running rebuilds the health of certain essential components of middle-aged knees, even if the joints start off worn.

“We used 3T MRI scans of the highest resolution available so that we could accurately detect even tiny abnormalities in the joint’s tissues or signs of erosion.

By middle age most joints have some level of wear and tear, so we needed to establish what their joints were like before they started running,” says Professor Hart.

Further information

• The New York Times: Marathon running may be good for your knees 
• The Times: Running after 40? No, it won’t wreck your knees
• Daily Telegraph: Why running a marathon is good for midlifers
• Research study paper: Can marathon running improve knee damage of middle-aged adults? A prospective cohort study 
• Professor Hart's articles about the study on LinkedIn 

Find out more about The London Clinic's 3T MRI scanning technology