10/14/2026
Osteoarthritis doesn’t mean you have to stop doing the things you love. 🏋️♀️🏃♂️🏔️
An OA diagnosis can come with a lot of scary messaging:
❌ Stop running. You’re destroying your knees.
❌ Don’t lift heavy weights. You’ll wear out your joints.
❌ Avoid squats and lunges.
❌ If it hurts, you’re causing damage.
But the evidence tells a more nuanced story.
✅ Exercise is an important part of managing osteoarthritis.
✅ Progressive strength training can improve strength, pain, and physical function.
✅ Recreational running isn’t inherently bad for your knees.
✅ Some discomfort during exercise doesn’t automatically mean you’re damaging your joints.
✅ You can modify your training without giving up your goals.
Does this mean you should ignore your symptoms and push through everything? Absolutely not. It means we should stop treating every ache, imaging finding, or diagnosis as proof that your body is fragile.
Instead, we can adjust the training dose, build capacity, and progressively work toward the activities that matter to you.
Whether your goal is to lift heavier, run a trail, hike in the mountains, or keep skiing for decades, your exercise program should help you work toward that goal.The question isn’t just what you need to avoid. It’s what you want to be able to do.
