Jogging craze in middle age may hurt your ankles

Has ever-growing paunch and sedentary lifestyle led you to begin jogging as you approach 40? Read this as a research reveals that those who suddenly take up exercise in their middle years are at the risk of developing ankle arthritis.

The boom in middle-aged joggers, tennis players and footballers is likely to fuel demand for ankle replacements in later life, as exercise craze puts strain on our bodies, British surgeons have cautioned.

People should not fool themselves into thinking their bodies were as resilient as they once were, even if they are in good shape for their age.

As we grow older, our tissue tends not to heal so quickly.

"The guy who is at highest risk is the one who has never played football as an adult and decides to take it up when he reaches 40," orthopaedic surgeon and professor Tony Kochhar of London Bridge Hospital was quoted as saying in a Daily Mail report.

"Repeated activity can cause a lot of stretch of the ankle ligaments, so the stability of the ankle is reduced over time," said Kochhar.

Ankle arthritis is a clinical condition, in which the joint that connects the foot to the leg known as ankle joint, has damaged or worn out cartilage.

The result is pain, stiffness and misery.

The operation involves removing the worn-out ends of bones, replacing them with metal caps and inserting a sliding plastic disc in between to act as artificial cartilage.