How many steps a day do you take without hurting your knees?

How many steps a day do you take without hurting your knees? The “best number of steps” is released: get a workout without hurting your knees!

Walking, as a simple and cost-effective way of exercise, has become the choice of many people. A growing body of research shows that increasing the number of steps you walk each day not only promotes health, but also prolongs life!
However, there are many people who are worried: does walking more really not hurt their knees? How many steps can you take to effectively exercise your body and avoid injuring your knee joints?

Health Times data map

The “best number of steps” is released:Walking this number of steps every day is the best way to protect your knee joints

In February 2025, a study published in the Annals of Rheumatology by a research team from Xiangya Hospital of Central South University explored the association between “daily steps and knee osteoarthritis” and found the amount of walking that is most beneficial to prevent knee diseases.

Studies have shown that walking about 8,000 steps a day is ideal. This intensity and amount of walking not only strengthens muscles, improves joint stability, but also reduces the burden on the joints. However, when the number of steps exceeds 8,000 steps, the benefits to the joints will no longer increase.

Knee osteoarthritis is the most common joint degenerative disease, which is often referred to as knee bone hyperplasia, long bone spurs, etc.

Purposeful walking, on the other hand, refers to walking activities with a pace frequency of ≥ 60 steps/minute, and this type of walking tends to be planned and goal-oriented. It seems that if you want to use walking as an exercise in the future, you should still appropriately increase your stride length + speed up, and avoid overdoing it.

Exercise and walk 8,000 steps a dayThe “value for money” is really good

Sun Luning, chief physician of the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, once introduced that the number of steps walking is not as much as possible, but it varies from person to person, and moderate exercise is the best.

For those who don’t usually exercise much, walking too much can easily lead to knee injuries and knee pain. In particular, some obese people are overweight and their joints are prone to wear and tear. If you walk too much, the level of wear and tear on the joints increases, causing knee pain.

In addition to considering the knee joint, there are studies that show that walking 8,000 steps a day does have many benefits:

1. Walking 8,000 steps a day reduces the risk of death

A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology in 2023 showed that walking more is good for longevity. A variety of factors may be involved between walking more each day and reducing the risk of death.

For example, walking may help promote venous return and blood circulation in the lower extremities, protecting the heart; Enhance cardiopulmonary function, improve blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, mood, cognition, memory and sleep; Exercise physical coordination, balance, etc., which in turn promotes cardiovascular and overall health, and reduces the risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and other diseases.

2. Walking 8,000 steps a day can reduce high blood pressure

A 2021 study published in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension found that after 3 months of brisk walking, most people’s blood pressure dropped by about 2-3 mm Hg. For people with high blood pressure, 4,000-8,000 brisk steps a day can be effective in reducing high blood pressure.

3. Take 8,000 steps a day to reduce the risk of 6 chronic diseases

A study published in Nature Medicine in 2022 found that walking more than 8,000 steps a day can reduce the risk of 6 chronic diseases, including: obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and major depression.

Walk and exercise after 6 p.m. every dayThe health benefits are maximum

Walking exercises can be done anytime, anywhere, but if you want to exercise at a fixed time, it is recommended to exercise after 6 p.m. every day.

A 2024 study published in the journal Obesity found that the best time of day to exercise is after 6 p.m. every day, when exercise is most beneficial for lowering blood sugar. At the same time, exercising after 6 p.m. every day has the greatest health benefits, which can minimize the risk of cardiovascular disease, microvascular disease, and all-cause mortality.

Mei Yu, deputy chief physician of the Department of Sports Medicine of Peking University Third Hospital, said that walking is a low- to medium-intensity aerobic exercise, and each exercise is recommended for 30-40 minutes, which can play a role in exercising cardiopulmonary function and joints.

In the case of normal walking, the cadence is 80-100 steps per minute, and the cadence can be slightly faster during exercise, about 100-120 steps per minute, and the stride length is also larger. You should warm up before walking and exercising, and you need to swing your arms when exercising. In addition, you should choose suitable shoes to avoid injury.