Running & skin cancer:
Learn to protect yourself!
Posted December 8th, 2006 at 12:00 PM by Afton Cohen
Section: News & Results, Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Gear & Apparel, Miscellaneous, Sports Medicine, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab
It’s everywhere; on TV, in magazines, on thefinalsprint.com! Exercise can improve your life - its positive, its fun, and it’s good for your health . . . or is it?
A recent study published in The New York Times suggests that there may be a link between distance running and skin cancer.
Lead author of the report, Dr. Christina Ambros-Rudolph, told The New York Times that 210 marathoners, and a control group of 210 non-runners, had their skin examined by dermatologists. Any and all spots or skin damage were recorded. What the results showed was quite interesting:
Even though, by chance, the non-runners had more benign moles, freckles and significantly higher sun sensitivity (as determined by eye color and skin shade), the runners had more solar lentigines [age spots] and more lesions. These lesions were suggestive of basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas; two less-aggressive forms of skin cancers.
A few of the candidates had some small growths or spots taken care of and no one was close to developing any severe types of skin cancer. However, this study should still raise some concerns among marathon runners and other endurance athletes.
Extensive exposure to sun during a marathon and routine training can be very dangerous. However, there are ways to protect yourself and really avoid these dangers. First, runners should avoid workouts, whenever possible, during peak hours when the sun is the strongest.
Second, and most importantly, WEAR SUNCREEN! This is still the best option for fighting against harmful UV rays. The obvious problem with sunscreen is that even sweat-proof brands may not stand up to the moisture produced by your body over an extensive distance run. his can lead to you being left vulnerable and even to having the painful irritation of it running into your eyes.
However, there are long-lasting brands on the market that every runner should own one (and use regularly!). One option that our Editor-in-Chief has had good results with is Coppertone’s Sport Ultra Sweatproof/Waterproof Sunblock Lotion (SPF 30 or 45).
Another excellent option is BodyGlide’s Sun Formula. This is a fantastic choice for many of you whom already use the BodyGlide Skin Formula. The Sun formula is just as effective as the Skin Formula at preventing chafing and irritation, but also contains SPF-25. We even tried using it on our faces and experienced little to no irritation or run-off. (Check out what we said about the Sun Formula within our Skin Formula review).
Distance runners should be checked out by a doctor as a precaution. However, please understand that running and exercise also help to prevent several types of diseases and other health problems. For example, regular exercise has been shown to greatly reduce the chance of developing Type-2 Diabetes, heart disease, obesity and much more.
WebMD reports that there are studies being done on mice that have shown some positive relativity between exercise and the body’s ability to slow the onset of some cancers.
This article shouldn’t steer runners away from the course, but rather serve as a little reminder to take preventative measures. Do yourself a favor by protecting your skin so you can continue to enjoy running on those beautiful, sunny days for years to come!
Keep running (but wear your sunscreen), because life is short and there are many more miles to go!
Sources: [New York Times] , [WebMD]
The full study mentioned above appears in the November issue of The Archives of Dermatology.
***Note: We encourage EVERYONE to see a doctor before altering their diet, taking a supplement and/or performing athletic, fitness or other strenuous physical activity. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any information, instruction, opinion or advice contained in the content. Please also see our complete disclaimer.***
***Note: We encourage EVERYONE to see a doctor before altering their diet, taking a supplement and/or performing athletic, fitness or other strenuous physical activity. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any information, instruction, opinion or advice contained in the content. Please also see our complete disclaimer.***
Tags: age spots, basal cell carcinoma, Bodyglide, carcinoma, coppertone, dermatology, disease, distance, distance runners, freckles, health, injury prevention, lesions, marathon runners, preventative measures, prevention, running, skin, skin cancer, skin damage, skin formula, solar lentigines, squamous carcinomas, sun, sun formula, sun sensitivity, sunscreen, suntan lotion, sweatproof, The New York Times, UV rays, waterproof
Like what you see? Subscribe to our feed!
The Final Sprint
If you’re running and being active while in the sun, you most definitely need to use products that protect your skin while doing it. You want to prevent wrinkles and age spots from developing or getting worse. I like the Murad Pigmentation/Sun Damage line because it’s weightless on my face. You can find these products at http://www.murad.com/environmental-aging-recommended.html
January 2nd, 2007 at 12:39 pm