Treadmill risks come to light with death of Silicon Valley exec

We all know exercise comes with some risks – that’s why we stretch, hydrate, and make sure we wrap those balky knees.

But it’s doubtful that Dave Goldberg, a prominent and well-loved Silicon Valley figure, ever thought he could be killed simply by exercising on a treadmill to stay fit.

The news of Goldberg’s sudden death at 47 while vacationing was shocking enough. But then came the equally disturbing answer to the question many people were asking: how could this happen?

Goldberg, it turned out, fell off a treadmill and struck his head while exercising at a private Mexican resort. He was rushed to a hospital where he died from bleeding and head trauma.

And that news has called attention to something many might never have realized: using a treadmill can be a lot more dangerous than it appears.

Consumer Products Safety Commission figures, in fact, put the number of treadmill-related ER visits in 2009 at 19,000. (More recent CPSC data wasn’t available.) That was more than from any other kind of exercise device.

Six thousand of those injuries were suffered by children, who are especially prone to friction burns from coming into contact with moving parts.

And if that trusty treadmill is starting to sound more like a punishment device than a fitness machine, well, that was its original intent.

Back in 1818, Sir William Cubitt, a British engineer, thought convicts ought to be put to work instead of serving their sentences just sitting around.  His answer was the treadmill, a device with which prisoners milled grain using their foot power.  Its reputation for cruelty, in fact, gave rise to the expression “on a treadmill.”

It wasn’t until a century and a half later, in the 1960s, that the treadmill was reinvented and marketed as an exercise machine. And it’s been a boon to the fitness industry ever since, accounting for a quarter of all its sales.

But, treadmills harbor hidden hazards — as even fitness experts have discovered.  For instance, Joy Fruehauf, a mom and yoga instructor from Washington State, spent 20 years running on treadmills without any problem until one the day she dropped her Walkman. And when she tried to scoop it up, she fell face-first into the heart rate monitor bar and lost consciousness.

Unlike Goldberg, however, Fruehauf was lucky. She got away with a broken nose and injured pride.

That’s why experts advise that treadmill users not distract themselves with things like reading or television, and use a safety key to turn off the machine if they should fall. And don’t look at your feet while running, which can cause you to lose balance.

They also urge that moving treadmills be kept off limits to kids – by removing the key when not in use, and by keeping them away from a machine that’s running.

But an even better idea might be to get out and take a walk instead.

The truth is that running or walking outdoors is safer for your joints because they aren’t striking exactly the same way every time.

Sources:

“Dave Goldberg, Silicon Valley executive, died of head trauma, Mexican official says” Vindu Goel and Randal C. Archibold, May 4, 2015, The New York Times