You might wonder why I ask this. In fact, why would it even matter?
Isn’t it just good enough to walk? Walking is a great start to maintaining health and longevity. It has multiple health benefits: cardiovascular improvement, post-meal insulin reduction, improved sleep, improved bone and joint health, enjoyment of the outdoors, better mental health, and more!
There’s more to walking than meets the eye. It helps us stay mobile. Okay that seems self-evident, right? Bear with me here; I’m not talking about mobility in the sense of ambulation (walking) but in the sense of better movement with full range of motion.
Staying mobile is a great part of staying healthy. One of the best ways to keep our mobility into our declining years is to walk regularly. However, HOW we walk is just as important!
Moving as quadrupeds, we would have propelled ourselves forward using both our arms (front legs) and our legs (back legs). Once we stood up and no longer walked on all fours – we still used our arms to propel ourselves forward. Our arms are an integral part of walking.
Walking also has a surprising benefit to breath function. Appendicular movement (i.e. swinging your arms) has the added benefit of improving rotational movement of the torso. This rotation improves spine health as it helps to keep the spinal joints moving, including the joints where the ribs meet the spine! This rotational movement contributes to a better ability to breathe because our ribs can expand and contract more easily. When we improve our breath; we improve, our cardiovascular health, our sleep, longevity and overall health.
Yet, in today’s society we always seem to be holding something, in one or both arms
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- a purse over your shoulder
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- a messenger bag
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- texting or talking on the phone
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- a dog on a leash
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- holding a child’s hand
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- pushing a stroller, a grocery cart, a walker
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- walking on a treadmill AND HOLDING ON to the sides!
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- walking with a cane
All these things limit rotation of the spine, propulsion, posture, nerve glide, and hip mobility, ultimately reducing our ability to move well.
Want a little bit of back pain relief? One helpful solution can be to go for a walk, and make sure you swing your arms! Walk with a cane? Get yourself hiking poles, instead, and use them in a natural arm swing.
Until next time… ~ breathe ~ move ~ unwind ~
