I could not read the actual study, as it's results were presented at an annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. This means that it has yet to be accepted or not actually published yet. So I can only take what this reporter reports on the study, but I have a serious problem with this information. Here is my rant on a few difficulties I have with the study.
In a country where almost one third of our population is obese and another third overweight, an article or study that even remotely discourages exercise is not a good study. I think most of our country is searching for any reason or excuse to do what it is currently not doing enough of which is exercising enough and eating right. Especially when published in an article produced by our government!!! In 2000 the annual cost of obesity in the United States was $117 BILLION according to the surgeon general testimony on the Obesity Crisis in America in 2003. That amount of money might help solve the health care crisis we are in and we would not even need to worry if there was a public option or not in a health care reform bill.
The article has one physician make an analogy that cracks or fissures in your cartilage is like driving over pot holes with your car and that causes damage over time which leads to arthritis. While this I would agree with, but that is assuming that all people have these pot hole to give the advice to everyone that we should not engage in high impact activities. I think we would all agree, that it is not wise to take a car out that has been sitting in the garage for 10-20 years and then drive it as fast as possible off road (high impact). At least it might be best to do a little tunning it up first. Probably would be smart to make sure the tires are inflated, balance and aligned properly, the oil pressure is correct, the timing is working right and so on. This is a problem with many people that we exercise when our movement patterns are not as they should be and then that leads to injury. I don't think Jimmie Johnson would have won 4 straight NASCAR titles without a car that was running near perfect all the time. He drives his car at a pretty high intensity, but with proper preparation it works near perfection most of the time without a break down.
Gray Cook, PT has done some outstanding work looking at a principle he points out as- "don't put fitness on top of a dysfunction". His book Athletic Body and Balance he goes into more detail about looking at getting the right movement patterns first then adding fitness on top of it. If we have a dysfunction and then magnify it with adding higher level fitness/exercise activities then yes we are heading down a path to increase injury.
While I think bike riding and swimming are great exercises, especially for those that have or are at increase risk for cartilage or joint damage. The only problem with those exercises as they do not replicate what we do in game of life most of the time. They are not weight bearing exercises, so while they may protect our joints, they do not help build our bones as well, which can lead to osteoporosis. Also they do not help our balance and nervous system adjust to ground reaction forces as we move across the room or yard.
So, yes we need to select the right exercises for everyone. If you are not sure what those are find a good Physical Therapist in your area that has an understanding of some of these principles and have them help you set up a program that is best for you. That may be starting with a few corrective exercises to get your body back in balance and your movement patterns working correctly, then cutting loose with any exercise whether high or low impact. But please do not think exercising is wrong, just exercise right.
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