How Walking Improves the Health of Your Spine
By Sara Butler
No doubt you’re aware of the benefits of exercise to your health and wellness, especially walking. But many people with back pain have a difficult time understanding how walking can benefit them. The chiropractors at The Joint want to share with you how walking, aside from its benefits to your overall health, can help to improve your spinal health as well. Here are a few of the ways.
It Helps Hydrate Your Spinal Discs
Gravity, while very useful, is not your friend. In fact, when it comes to the health of your spine, gravity takes quite a toll. From the time you get out of bed until you go to sleep for the night, gravity pushes down your spinal discs, squeezing out water and essential nutrients your discs need to stay healthy. This constant daily compression can, over time, lead to back pain -- unless you do something about it.
This is where walking comes in handy. Doing a low-impact activity that isn’t hard on your joints (including your spinal joints) helps to increase circulation. The increased blood flow you experience helps to push water and nutrients back into your discs to help improve your spinal health.
It Reduces Spinal Stress
Exercise is good for you, but if you want to do something good for your back, then low-impact exercise is what you need to be looking for. Walking is a great low-impact workout that helps to increase the range of motion, flexibility, and mobility. If you work in a few stretching exercises, then it can help to benefit your spine even more. Remember, your body is made to move. Regular movement helps to keep your muscles strong and flexible, which works to improve your spinal health.
It Helps Your Posture
Weak and inflexible muscles can’t do their job, but walking helps to prevent that. The muscles in your back were made to support your spine, so keeping them strong helps you to stay upright. A failure to keep the muscles in your core and your back strong can result in poor posture -- and poor posture can lead you straight into back pain.
Walk to strengthen your muscles and improve your posture and you’ll reap other benefits as well, such as improved organ function, easier breathing, less fatigue, and reduced back pain.
Make sure to talk to your chiropractor about how walking can benefit your health!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Las Vegas, Nev.