Is running on trademill is dangerous after 50 yrs of age?

Question

Involvement of knee joints

Answer 1

First of all let me clear that threadmill (TM) is not meant for running on.. After 50 accept it or not your body is not able to regenerate as much as it undergoes damage per day. So firstly get youself checked by a doctor no lesser than your Physician. Secondly undergo a stress test so that the approx. time that you can walk on a TM is known as also whether you are prone to any variations in blood pressure or to ischaemia (decreased blood supply toyour heart). Next if all is ok then start your exercise with monitoring of your heart rate. See to it that your heart rate does not exceed the following calculation i.e (220-age in years)*85%. so for your age it would mean (220-50)*85%=140 beats per minute. Start with speeds of 2kmph *5 minutes followed by 3 kmph for 5 min followed by 4*5 min,5*5 min and then 6kmph. please see the cart attached
kmph min km trav
2 * 5 = 0.17
3 * 5 = 0.25
4 * 5 = 0.33
5 * 5 = 0.42
6 * 5 = 0.50
5 * 10 = 0.83
4 *10 = 0.67
3 *10 = 0.50
2 * 10 = 0.33
65 = 4.00
Relaxatation is also most important. So in 65 minutes you can travel a distance of 4 km.
Dr. Mandar Arekar (M.D. -Internal Medicine)

Answer 2

Running on a treadmill or outside in the open is not dangerous after age 50 provided there is no other health problem. Anyone with a heart problem needs to be thoroughly evaluated by a qualified physician before ANY kind of exercise regimen is undertaken. A cheap treadmill with a hard running surface is bad for the knees even for an otherwise healthy person. Invest in a GOOD treadmill - they are NOT cheap, but if you are serious about your exercise, a good treadmill is well worth the investment. Always check with your doctor before starting on an exercise program.
Good luck and good jogging!

Answer 3

I am not a Dr but in addition to all the above suggestions, I think you absolutely need to make sure you wear a heart monitor.
Figure out your maximum heart rate and make sure you don't exceed it.
As a rule of thumb if you are breathing raggedly you are probably exceeding your maximum heart rate.

If you haven't exercised in a while, or even if you have, I would also add some leg/knee strengthening exercises to avoid knee injury.

(By the way using a treadmill with an incline and walking at 4mph is pretty effective exercise too....much less strenuous on the knees).

Answer 4

Have a good check up with your primary care doctor before starting any new exercise regime. Have a stress test, chest xray, blood pressure check, basic lab tests, and a colonoscopy. You may need to see someone about your knees as well- you do not want to further damage your knees. I do think that exercise is important- I am not discouraging it- I would just get checked out first.

Answer 5

No. Walking or running gently or slowly on the treadmill is good.
Start out slow speed, short length of time and build up.

I have knee problems also. I use a stationery recumbent bike as a warm up before I get on the treadmill.'

Answer 6

I am 50 and I do 45 min 3xweek. There are others older than me on the treadmill at the gym. My neighbor as had bil knee replacements and exercise's in the pool.

Answer 7

I think that you need to tone it down (for your entire body) and there's no point in overstraining yourself. I swithed over from running to mostly rapid paced walking when I turned 50.

If you have problems with your knees, an "ellipitical" type of exercise machine might be helpful, although I'm not an expert on this.

Answer 8

I think you must mean "Is running on a treadmill dangerous after 50 years of age"

and my answer: ask a doctor who knows you.

Answer 9

It should not be a problem unless you have osteoprosis.
My mother is age 69, and she uses a treadmill every day. She walks at a brisk pace, instead of running; and her health has improved as a result.

Answer 10

I think your pretty safe as long as you don't over do it. Just remember you should also visit your Doc and let he/she give you a clean bill of health regarding the following: Bld Pressure,Bld sugar levels,Respiratory, and most especially check that heart out. Let your Doc be the one to inform you if your healthy enought to run on the treadmill.