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The Pinecone
|
September 2015
Walking
Benefits of
Walking is easy to do and offers
many benefits, especially for
people with arthritis.
What’s not to like about walking? It’s free.
It’s easy to do, and it’s easy on the joints.
And there’s no question that walking
is good for you. Walking is an aerobic
exercise; a University of Tennessee study
found that women who walked had less
body fat than those who didn’t walk. It
also lowers the risk of blood clots, since
the calf acts as a venous pump, contracting
and pumping blood from the feet and legs
back to the heart, reducing the load on the
heart. Walking is good for you in other
ways as well.
1. Walking improves circulation.
It also
wards off heart disease, brings up the
heart rate, lowers blood pressure and
strengthens the heart. Studies at the
University of Colorado at Boulder and the
University of Tennessee found that post-
menopausal women who walked just one
to two miles a day lowered blood pressure
by nearly 11 points in 24 weeks. Women
who walked 30 minutes a day reduced
their risk of stroke by 20 percent – by 40
percent when they stepped up the pace,
according to researchers at the Harvard
School of Public Health in Boston.
2. Walking shores up your bones.
It can
stop the loss of bone mass for those
with osteoporosis, according toMichaelA.
Schwartz, MD, of Plancher Orthopedics
EXERCISE SCHEDULE FOR THE OASIS
Advanced Water Aerobics • Monday & Wednesday • 8:30 am-9:30 am
Exercise in the PAC • Monday, Wednesday & Friday • 9:30 am
Tai Chi • Monday • 2:00 pm
Men’s Only Water Aerobics • Tuesday & Thursday • 8:30 am - 9:15 am
Arthritis Foundation Water Aerobics • Tuesday & Thursday • 9:30 am - 10:15 am
Arthritis Foundation Sit/Stand Class • Tuesday & Thursday • 11:00 am - 11:45 am
SMALL
CHANGES
CAN
MAKE
A
BIG
DIFFERENCE
& Sports Medicine in NewYork. In fact, a
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston,
study of post-menopausal women found
that 30 minutes of walking each day
reduced their risk of hip fractures by 40
percent.
3. Walking lightens mood.
A California
State University, Long Beach, study
showed that the more steps people took
during the day, the better their moods
were. Why? Walking releases natural
painkilling endorphins to the body – one
of the emotional benefits of exercise.
4. Walking can lead to weight loss.
Abrisk
30-minute walk burns 200 calories. Over
time, calories burned can lead to pounds
dropped.
5. Walking strengthens muscles.
It tones
your leg and abdominal muscles – and
even arm muscles if you pump them as
you walk. This increases your range of
motion, shifting the pressure and weight
from your joints and muscles – which
are meant to handle weight – helping to
lessen arthritis pain
6. Walking improves sleep.
A study from
the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research
Center in Seattle found that women, ages
50 to 75, who took one-hour morning
walks, were more likely to relieve
insomnia than women who didn’t walk.
7. Walking supports your joints.
The
majority of joint cartilage has no direct
blood supply. It gets its nutrition from
synovial or joint fluid that circulates as we
move. Impact that comes from movement
or compression, such as walking,
“squishes” the cartilage, bringing oxygen
and nutrients into the area. If you don’t
walk, joints are deprived of life-giving
fluid, which can speed deterioration.
8. Walking improves your breath.
When
walking, your breathing rate increases,
causing oxygen to travel faster through
bloodstream, helping to eliminate waste
products and improve your energy level
and the ability to heal.
9. Walking slows mental decline.
A
study of 6,000 women, ages 65 and
older, performed by researchers at the
University of California, San Francisco,
found that age-related memory decline
was lower in those who walked more.
The women walking 2.5 miles per day
had a 17-percent decline in memory,
as opposed to a 25-percent decline in
women who walked less than a half-mile
per week. A study from the University of
Virginia Health System in Charlottesville
found that men between the ages of 71
and 93 who walked more than a quarter
of a mile per day had half the incidence
of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,
compared to those who walked less.
10. Walking helps you do more, longer.
Aerobic walking and resistance exercise
programs may reduce the incidence of
disability in the activities of daily living
of people who are older than 65 and
have symptomatic OA, according to a
study published in the Journal of Clinical
Outcomes Management.
Reference: Arthritis Foundation

If you are looking for an opportunity to
enjoy the benefits of walking but need
some help to get started, join the Walk
with Ease Class beginning Monday
September 14 and runs for 9 weeks. The
class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays
at 10:30 in the PAC. Register now for the
class, we will limit the class size to 15. If
you can walk for 10 minutes and desire
an enjoyable way to exercise, this class
may be for you. Register with Jesse in
activities office or Mary in the Oasis.