New research has found that just an hour of brisk walking a week - about 9 minutes a day - can help reduce discomfort in older people related to arthritis, joint pain or muscle stiffness. Researchers at the School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago claim that walking at a moderate to vigorous pace - as if rushing for an appointment or an oncoming train - can have positive effects on joints.
9 minutes of brisk walking also helps
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“This is less than 10 minutes a day. It's totally doable," says lead author Dorothy Dunlop, professor of preventive medicine, in a university release. “This minimum threshold can motivate inactive older people to move towards onephysically active lifestyleand reap the many health benefits of physical activity.”
Brisk walking against knee arthrosis
Over a four-year period, the authors examined data from more than 1,500 adults from Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio and Pawtucket, Rhode Island who participated in the Osteoarthritis Initiative. This should provide insight into theTreatment and prevention of knee osteoarthritisgive. Participants reported feeling pain or stiffness in their joints at the start of the study, but were not diagnosed with disability. The researchers used accelerometers to track their physical activity.
At the end of the 4-year period, it was found that participants who walked at a brisk pace for more than an hour total per week were 85 percent less likely to have a disability or limited mobility . Similarly, the risk of some form of disability that limits their daily life - such as the inability to bathe or dress themselves - fell by 45 percent.
The study was carried out inAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicinepublished.
