Walking is the best medicine. Is your posture correct?

There are many benefits of brisk walking. It not only lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, but also prevents osteoporosis. However, are you doing it in the right posture? Japanese sports scientists and medical doctors say that brisk walking is the simplest aerobic exercise and is suitable for older people or those with insufficient thigh muscle strength. However, if you walk with the wrong posture, it will not only fail to strengthen your body, but will cause joint or muscle pain. Come and see if you have made the following NG mistakes:

Japanese sports scientist and medical doctor Keimoto Yuasa pointed out in his book "Super Healthy Symptomatic Walking" that the knee joints are under less pressure during walking and the requirements for the lower limb muscles are also relatively low. It is relatively safer than high-intensity jogging and is suitable for people with degenerative arthritis, the elderly or those with insufficient thigh muscle strength.

There are many benefits to brisk walking. It not only lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, but also prevents osteoporosis. But are you doing it in the right posture?

Are you walking the right way? 4. Don't make mistakes in NG poses

Although walking is not as intense as running, if you walk with the wrong posture, it may cause pain in the shoulder, neck, knee or waist joints and muscles. Therefore, before walking, you may want to check whether you have made the following NG mistakes:

NG posture 1 / Wrong arm swing and shoulder injury

The main reason for swinging your arms while walking is to maintain body balance, but some people cause shoulder pain by swinging their arms back and forth. Shoulder pain occurs because human joints are not designed to swing the arms straight forward or backward. Therefore, it is recommended to swing your arms diagonally forward or backward to protect your shoulders from injury.

When walking, the knee joints are under less pressure and the requirements for the lower limb muscles are also relatively low. It is suitable for older people or those with insufficient thigh muscle strength.

NG posture 2: Landing on toes first can easily lead to falling

Unlike running, when walking, your feet are not lifted up before landing. Instead, they are moved at a very close distance to the ground before landing. When you land on your toes first, you may sometimes trip or fall accidentally. Therefore, to avoid falling, it is best to land on your heels.

NG posture 3 / Over-extension of the upper body hurts the waist

It is important to keep your back straight when walking, but the weight of the upper body is about 60% of the body weight. When the upper body is pushed back, the weight added to the waist is 2 to 3 times the body weight. If you continue to walk in this posture, you may injure your waist. In order to avoid waist injuries, it is recommended to shrink your abdomen while walking with your back straight, so as to avoid excessive arching of the upper body.

NG posture 4: Taking big steps may cause back pain

When walking with large strides, the waist will twist. Although slowly twisting is unlikely to cause back pain, when the pace is quickened, the sudden twisting may cause injury to the waist. So, walk with your hips centered and striding at a comfortable pace.

【Health Tips】:

For the first 5 minutes of brisk walking, it is recommended to warm up at a slow pace, then walk at 90 to 120 steps per minute for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you experience muscle soreness after walking, you should rest for 1 to 2 days. If the pain does not subside, it may be a muscle strain and you should see a doctor.