Running hurts internal organs? What?

taunto

I am fairly positive this is alarmist crap and honestly can't believe I'm even asking this but figured I'd verify here.

Is there any relation between running and it causing damage to kidney (or maybe liver. I forget which one he said)? Friend of mine said that the doctors in Saudi Arabia (where I live) have said that running outdoors in Saudia can cause internal organs to damage over time and you feel its affects later in life. Not to mention the strain it puts on knees, specially for fatties like me.

Any input?

ETA: oops forgot to mention. The reason for it was that the ground in Saudia is so hard, it hurts the internal organs.

VelociMama

What is their rationale for saying it's "bad"?

UsedToBeHusky

Could it be air quality?

I know nothing about Saudia Arabia. I'm just taking a stab in the dark.

taunto

What is their rationale for saying it's "bad"?

No rationale. No studies or anything shown to me. The guy just noticed I walk outdoors and asked me about it and I told him that I'm working up to running and currently job about 1/4th of the time I walk and this was his response.

1ConcreteGirl

My brother is an ultramarathon runner and he says one of the most common newbie mistakes in ultra running is undertraining, which results in people pissing blood for a couple of days because they aren't used to the impact on their kidneys. Granted, that only applies after a really far distance, but it does happen

AllTehBeers

I can just see our insides flopping around like a peen on the loose. Yep, that could be harmful to your health.

taunto

Could it be air quality?

I know nothing about Saudia Arabia. I'm just taking a stab in the dark.

He said its because the ground in Saudia is too hard... sorry I thought I wrote that part in my original post

UsedToBeHusky

Could it be air quality?

I know nothing about Saudia Arabia. I'm just taking a stab in the dark.

He said its because the ground in Saudia is too hard... sorry I thought I wrote that part in my original post

Other than the potential for joint damage, I've never heard of such a thing.

MoreBean13

Highly doubtful. Even pregnant women can run if they were conditioned to running before pregnancy without it beating up the baby. Hard surfaces are certainly harder on the body than cushier ones, concrete is about the worst. A lot of the problems associated with bouncing- including boobie pains on larger breasted women- can be minimized by good running form. You would be amazed the bouncing difference between proper form and overstriding/heel striking/stiff upper body/(insert other bad form techniques here).

dare2love81

Yeah...IDK that the ground there is necessarily harder than concrete in the states (or anywhere for that matter). So I'm not sure I buy that line of thought. Running being hard on joints? Absolutely... But on internal organs? I am skeptical. :huh:

djdube525

A strong core will help provide support for your internals...

Sarauk2sf

hi taunto!

We are not ignoring your post, it is just that you absolutely do not want either my or SideSteel's input on a running question. Luckily we have some runners in the group that do know what they are talking about!

lacurandera1

That's one anti running line I've actually never heard. I seriously doubt it. I mean, it seems someone of an average (and definitely above average!) body fat would have enough visceral fat to protect them even if it did "jar" your organs. I don't buy it. And while i haven't been running again for long, I ran A LOT when I was younger. No complaints as I age.

Plus- we WERE meant to run. Like, away from lions and bears and stuff.

Cait_Sidhe

Plus- we WERE meant to run. Like, away from lions and bears and stuff.

This thought is actually what keeps me going sometimes when running. The thought that I was meant for this.

And Taunto, I've only ever heard this pertaining to joints and running on asphalt.

lacurandera1

Elisa, I think it sometimes too when I want to bow out. lol. it works. and the horrible- ness that made me want to quit tends to fade.

taunto

Thank you all for not being mean to my silly question and giving me good input.

I'm glad that I have enough common sense to smell bull**** and realize that it was crap. Thank you all for verifying

billsica

I would assume the harder the surface the more stress it would put on joints.
If you are running on sand, it would be more stressful on tendons and the like since your foot would come down at all weird angles.

If you are running on the road or something paved, wouldn't that be basically the same as anywhere else in the world?

Honestly, once I went from a heel strike to a flat foot or toe strike its been a game changer.

nadia_in_mtl

I lived in Saudi Arabia the first 17 years of my life in Jeddah, a humid city on the Red Sea. In my PE class in high school, we ran track outside (I think PE class was around noon time in my senior year). Granted it wasn't during the hottest months of the year, but it was still pretty hot and yet I managed to graduate high school with my internal organs intact. We played other sports outdoors too like soccer, plus a bunch of indoor ones like volleyball and basketball.

To my knowledge, there is nothing about concrete or asphalt there that is different from North America. I would only be concerned about running outside when it is really hot.

heybales

I think if you tried to run with really poor form, like doing really slow stride rates and really leaping into the air and going far and landing on the heel, all the things that may look like you were sprinting poorly, but you did it for a long time, sure all those impacts of gravity could cause problems.

But you are sure going to notice it in your ankles, knees, hips pretty quickly, and that'll save ya from doing it too long.

The 3 guys that ran across the Sahara didn't have any ill effects running in sand and on roads. It's on Netflix.

djdube525

But you are sure going to notice it in your ankles, knees, hips pretty quickly, and that'll save ya from doing it too long.

This reminded me of a nice article from Runner's World that talked about common running injuries, prevention, and ways to rehab if you "run" into them (pun intended):

http://www.runnersworld.com/health/big-7-body-breakdowns?page=single

M_lifts

I agree with the majority of the posts about bad form running. I used to heel strike and wore ordinary shoes. Once i changed my stride and got proper fitted shoes the pain in my piriformis muscle stopped.

Ive lived in Saudi and I wouldnt say the pavements are any different than what they are here.

So no need to worry and enjoy the runs!