We have all heard that walking is beneficial for our health, and that we should walk more, but most of us would struggle to know 10 benefits of walking. Today I am going to discuss some of the benefits of walking and how it could help you reduce the amount of Chiropractic care that you need.
If sitting is the new smoking it only real cure is to not sit. If you are not sitting then you might as well be moving. Some scientific papers have suggested that sitting increases our risk of dyeing from all causes of mortality by up to 40%. This alone should be enough to make you get off your bum and walk more, but lets look at some ways that walking increases your health.
- Increases cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) fitness. This means you are reducing your chance of heart disease, the largest cause of death in the world. It also means you are reducing your chance of stroke at the same time.
- Stronger bones… Because walking is a weight baring exercise, it actually can increase or maintain your current bone density. Reducing your chance of osteoporosis.
- Stronger muscles. Like all forms of exercise it is good for your muscles. Not only from a strength perspective but also endurance.
- Improved balance. Because walking requires you to unilateral weight bare (stand on one foot) for a period of time it improves your ability to balance.
- Weight management.Because you burn more calories walking then sitting it can help manage weight.
- Reduce your chance of type 2 Diabetes, or help you manage blood sugar if you already have diabetes. Some scientist recommend that we walk a minimum of 10000 steps and day and 3000 of those should be at a brisk pace. Walking helps reduce insulin resistance in the body thus helping us manage blood sugars. The better and more consistent we are with managing blood sugars the lower our risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Can reduce the risk of cancer. The sedentary (seated low movement) lifestyle has been linked to cancer. Walking daily reduces the stresses and improves the circulation thus helping the immune system fight cancer. As well as stimulating the immune system for fighting your everyday colds, flues and infections.
- Improves the brain.Walking has been linked to improved mood, increased creativity, and increased productivity. It has also been linked to decreased risk of dementia. Walking uses the leg muscles and recent science suggest that these large muscles when exercised can have an increased cell proliferation in the brain, thus reducing the effects of neuro-degenerative conditions such as MS and motor neuron disease.
- Improved digestion.Walking increase your guts ability to process and absorb the food you eat, decreasing its transits time in the colon and reducing constipation.
- Improves spinal health. Walking not only helps you hold your adjustment longer it also reduces the amount of chiropractic care you need. It does this by wiggling all of the joints along the spine from the skull to the hips. This wiggling can reduce the number of vertebral subluxations that occur along the spine and in some cases even correct some of the vertebral subluxations that we as chiropractors have to adjust.
As if you did not have enough reason to walk before. So lets get out there and just start walking, anything is better then nothing, and building up to a brisk 30-60 minute walk will do you a world of good. ‘Brisk’ means that you can still talk but not sing, and you may be puffing slightly. Moderate activities such as walking pose little health risk but, if you have a medical condition, check with your doctor before starting any new exercise program of physical activity.
For more great information and health tips please visit our website www.seamanchiropractic.com.au, follow us on Instagram or like our Facebook page. Please share this with as many people as you can, because almost everyone could benefit from walking.
We acknowledge the First Peoples of the River Murray and Mallee as traditional custodians of the land upon which we provide our health and wellbeing services.