Juneau Chiropractic Tip: Go out for a walk.
Every step counts! Walks are healthy. Walking is effective, even in small spurts.
It’s a growing trend in Juneau and everywhere else. Walking is free and easy. Walking is a physical activity that most anyone can do. Unfortunately only about 48% of adults get enough aerobic (activity that gets the heart pumping harder and blood vessels healthier) physical activity (1), so Aurora Chiropractic Center recommends walking to all of our Juneau chiropractic patients especially as they recover from a back pain episode.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GUIDELINES
Physical Activity Guidelines recommend only 2 and a half hours each week. (2) That’s so simple! That can be accomplished in smaller chunks like five 30-minute walks or longer walks with friends instead of coffee chats or dinners out. A walk while waiting to pick up kids at activities will do it. 145 million adults walk as part of their physical activity plan. Others like some in Juneau walk for fun or transportation or exercise. 6 out of 10 walk for their aerobic physical activity. Others take ballroom dancing or gardening. (1) Brisk walking, running, jogging, swimming or biking are potential activities when walking becomes a bit too comfortable, but walking itself works|is]19] just as well!
WALKERS KEEP WALKING
The Journal of the American Medical Association published information about 1635 inactive adults from 70 to 89 years who were at risk of not being as mobile as they like (ie, their ability to walk without support). They were split into two groups: walking (20-minutes-a-day walk) or education (reading material about healthy aging). The walking group had an 18% lower risk of major mobility disability at 2.6 years. The walkers could walk without assistance up to a quarter mile. (3) This is great news!
A NEW WALKING PROGRAM: Motivators & Effects
What motivates you to exercise? Aurora Chiropractic Center is here to inspire you! A new report about outcomes of a 6-month program of walking shared what low back pain participants said were motivators that got them to begin the walking program (back pain improvement and better overall healthy lifestyle), to follow the program (walking was perceived as a safe exercise as opposed to high-impact exercise that they would avoid out of fear of making their pain worse), and to finish the program (accountability, enjoyment of the exercise and health benefits). (4) A recently planned study expects to define just how effective a walking and education program might be able to prevent low back pain recurrence as well as for cost. They are calling it WalkBack. (5) Such a great name! Effectiveness and cost-savings might also be motivators to stay with a walking program.
CONTACT Aurora Chiropractic Center
So if you are looking to add some physical activity to your life or you are attempting to re-gain your physically active life after an injury, illness or bout of back pain, just walk (after you check with your Juneau chiropractor first!). It may well be just what you are looking for! Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Amanda Harris on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she describes treatment with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management that allowed a patient to walk again without a cane.
Schedule an appointment with Aurora Chiropractic Center today for personalized advice about incorporating walking into your chiropractic care plan.
