Three Japanese elderly to walk the road. (Photo by 123RF)
The exercise nature invented
Without a doubt, the best exercise for breathing and many other functions is the one invented by nature – walking.
Thirty people in their 20s and early 30s who work sitting their entire shift at a call center in India were studied (Vats and Patra, 2015). Half of the workers were recruited into a program of treadmill exercise; the other half did not change their activity level. After three weeks, breathing capacity improved to a significant degree in the treadmill group. The second group not only failed to improve but suffered a deterioration in breathing capacity.
Epidemiologists studied the effect of various lifestyle factors on breathing among African Americans in the Jackson, Mississippi area (Jenkins et al, 2014). More than 3,000 men and women between the ages of 21 and 93 participated. Not surprisingly, smoking emerged as the greatest threat to lung function. The number two threat was a lack of physical activity such as walking. Comparing participants of the same age and gender, active non-smokers demonstrated significantly better lung function than sedentary smokers.
Walking isn’t just about breathing
Walking does more than improve your breathing. It reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and dementia. It can also preserve the mobility of people prone to arthritic changes in their hips, knees, and feet.
What’s the right ‘dose’?
There are several expert opinions concerning the proper “dosage” of walking. Some of these opinions are more evidence-based and practical than others. Several sources urge a minimum of 10,000 steps per day. Others advocate at least 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity such as brisk walking. A 2018 study found that as little as two hours (120 minutes) of walking per week (20 minutes per day, six days per week) reduced mortality from all causes – including respiratory disease – to a statistically significant degree (Patel et al, 2018).
Innovate to invigorate!
Goals that involve counting steps or measuring minutes can be highly motivating for some people. As a practitioner, I have found such people to be in the minority. Many people are willing and able to improve their health by walking but find the usual metrics to be discouraging. Sometimes the best answer to the question, “How much walking should I do?” is simply, “More than you’re doing now.”
There is a method to increase walking without counting steps and minutes. It is a method that exercises the mind as well as the body. This is how it works: Create new ways to incorporate more walking into your everyday life
.Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Walk to rise. When an elevator is available, consider using the stairs instead.
Commercial break = exercise break. When watching television, commercials and station breaks usually do not require your undivided attention. Consider walking around the room or marching in place until your program resumes.
First space is close enough. When parking your car to shop for groceries (or any other errand), choose the first available space rather than driving around to find the closest space to the store (weather permitting, of course).
With a bit of thought, you can come up with your own way to walk more withou tmaking it feel like math homework. Once that new way becomes a matter of habit, come up with another way, then another. You are exercising your human power of creativity to better exercise your body. Innovate to invigorate!
Enabling the walk
Back pain, hip pain, and knee pain can render the above advice impractical. To “innovate to invigorate,” you must be able to walk the walk.
Chiropractic care has been helping people get on their feet since 1895. The benefits of chiropractic adjustments are available to everyone from the sedentary office worker to the elite athlete (Redwood and Stump, 2002). This form of drug-free health care is offered all over the United States, and many locations across the world.
Sources for this Article
Jenkins BWC, Sarpong DF, Addison C, White MS, Hickson DA, White W, Burchfiel C. Joint Effects of Smoking and Sedentary Lifestyle on Lung Function in African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study Cohort. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2014; 11: 1500-1519. Full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945550/
Masarsky CS. Building the Breathing Muscles. https://guam.stripes.com/health/building-breathing-muscles
Patel AV, Hildebrand JS, Leach CR, Campbell PT, Doyle C, Shuval K, Wang Y, Gapstur SM. Walking in Relation to Mortality in a Large Prospective Cohort of Older U.S. Adults. Am J Prev Med. 2018 Jan;54(1):10-19. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29056372/#full-view-affiliation-1
Redwood D, Stump JL. The Use and Role of Sport Chiropractors in the National Football League: A Short Report. J Manipulative Physiol Ther, 2002; 25(3): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11986584
Vats U, Patra P. Effect of Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercises on Vital Capacity and Quality of Life on Asymptomatic Subjects with Sedentary Lifestyle. Int J Med Health Sci, 2015; 4: 24-28. Full text: http://www.ijmhs.net/articles/1421233700Effect_of_Moderate_Intensity_Aerobic_Exercises_on_Vital_Capacity_And_Quality_of_Life_on_Asymptomatic_Subjects_With_Sedentary_Lifestyle.pdf
About the Author
While serving as a medical specialist (MOS 91-B) in the U.S. Army Reserve, Dr. Masarsky earned his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from New York Chiropractic College in 1981. He is in the private practice of chiropractic in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC with his wife and partner, Dr. Marion Todres-Masarsky. For further information, contact Dr. Masarsky at 703-938-6441 or viennachiropractic@verizon.net. Also visit his practice’s website: www.viennachiropractic.com.
