The Most Important Exercise

Click on the image above to see the various profound
and interesting effects of regular walking.

After 20 years as a chiropractor, I've noticed distinct lifestyle habits among my patients which strongly influences their self-healing capacity. One of the most important ones is walking. Simply put, the more my patients walk, the faster they recover and the longer they stay well. In fact, those patients who don't own cars or computers get better even faster. I remember one elderly man in particular, who was working for one of my patients, tending their garden.  He slowly developed sciatica, which is pain in the large nerve running down the leg. He showed all the clinical signs of a bulging or collapsed spinal disc and was in severe pain.  Amazingly, he recovered from this debilitating condition in less than 3 visits!  I believe that one of the main reasons for his quick recovery was because he is forced to walk long distances on a daily basis, since he did not own a car.  Even when he was in severe pain, he had to walk.  In contrast, the patients I've seen over the years who don't walk often, tend to take much longer to recover.  While they still recover faster that those that resort to standard medical treatment and bed rest, regular walking usually speeds up this process even more so.  Another patient who spent most of his time behind a desk, was diagnosed with a swollen disc and told that he required a back operation.  He diligently followed my recommendation to walk more, for at least an hour every day.  He recovered quickly and was able to avoid the risks and low success rate of the operation.  Fortunately, his example is not isolated, as I've seen this success repeated many times.  It's also important to note that the benefits of walking go far beyond treating and preventing back pain (see the chart above).  When you walk, a kinetic chain is initiated from your feet to your legs to your pelvis, and subsequently through the whole spine, even the neck, thus improving the vitality of the entire spinal column.  As the spine improves, so to does the function of the entire nervous system, allowing your whole body to function better.  It's easy to see why walking is as essential to your well-being as breathing, eating, and sleeping.  Make this simple act a regular part of your lifestyle and enjoy the benefits for a lifetime.

- by Dr. Shailen J. Nana

For more information regarding exercise, please see my previous articles:
Keep Your Spine In Motion
Avoid Sitting When Exercising
Healthy Exercise: Squats
There's Always Time To Get Fit
Healthy Exercise: Interval Training