How Walking Can Help Chronic Pain

Benefits of Walking

• Improve Mental Health

  Being outside naturally improves your health and mental well-being thanks to the magical combination of sunlight and endorphins. Endorphins lessen the body’s sensitivity to pain signals, which can make your symptoms more manageable. Endorphins also play a role in reducing stress and anxiety — both common triggers for added pain. Even a short walk can increase your energy and improve your mood.

• Improve Physical Health

  Aside from the emotional benefits, walking can significantly impact your physiological health and might lessen chronic pain. A walk that elevates your heart rate for between 15-60 minutes a day is generally enough to see wonderful benefits to your overall well-being.

• Increase Blood Flow

  Walking naturally increases your blood flow and circulation, which plays an important role in healing your body. This increased blood flow adds oxygen to your muscles and increases nutrients throughout your body, which assists in clearing away the build-up of lactic acid. Clearing away lactic acid can alleviate pain and improve overall strength and flexibility. (LINK to Pain Relief secondary pillar) As you walk, aim to keep your heart rate elevated, but not so much that you cannot hold a conversation with a walking partner or over the phone with someone.

• Build Strength and Maintain a Healthy Weight

  For a low-impact exercise, walking also packs a punch in its potential to improve core strength and play a positive role in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Losing weight decreases stress on your joints and also alleviates pain. (LINK to Joint Pain cluster topic) A strong core lessens the strain on your spine, resulting in less back pain. If you suffer from joint pain, walking is a great solution for you as well. Walking increases the production of synovial fluid, which helps keep joints lubricated and pain-free.

Invest in suitable footwear that provides good support to keep your body safe and encourage positive results as you walk. Take time to stretch before you warm up your muscles and avoid additional injury. It's also important to stay hydrated. Water helps flush toxins out of your body and improves your walk's overall impact and recovery. If you're walking outside, don't forget the sunscreen!

Consider finding a buddy to walk with to help keep yourself safe. Alternatively, let someone know your plans so someone knows where you'll be in case of an emergency. Stay in well-lit areas if you walk when it's dark, and wear light-reflecting clothing to be easily visible to drivers.