Biking is a great low-impact cardio exercise, but it may also help prevent knee pain and arthritis, new research shows. People who participated in biking or cycling at any point in their lives were 17% less likely to experience knee pain and 21% less likely to develop osteoarthritis in the knee joint, according to a new study published in . The study included over 2,600 participants in their sixties, who were asked how often they biked or cycled during four time periods through their lifetime: ages 12 to 18, 19 to 34, 35 to 49, and age 50 and older.

Researchers analyzed data and compared outcomes for knee pain and osteoarthritis of the knee joints between participants who had a history of bicycling and participants who do not bike. “Based on our observational study, bicycling over a lifetime is associated with better knee health, including less knee pain and less damage to the joint,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Grace Lo, chief of rheumatology at the Michael E.

DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, . “The more periods of time in life a person spent bicycling, the less likely she or he had knee pain and signs of osteoarthritis," Lo said. Arthritis is a term used to describe the inflammation, pain and swelling of one or more joints.

The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease. Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage which cushions the bones that come together to form the knee joint wears down, causing the bones to rub .