How important is walking for your muscles and joints?

Walking is such a simple activity that it often goes overlooked as important.

It sometimes seems slow, boring and unproductive, but there are a few things to consider before making up your mind about the importance of walking.

I am going to get technical for a moment, so bear with me.

As babies, one of the first things we learn to do is crawl. This process is called “cross crawl.” It is the precursor to walking and is also overlooked as a huge milestone.

Cross crawl is the development and balancing of the muscles in the body to be able to learn to walk. It is the beginning of our muscle coordination and connecting of the brain and nerves with the body.

Why does this matter?

As we age we tend to sit more and move less, which “unlearns” the cross crawl pattern.

This causes us to start to shuffle side-to-side when walking; makes us stiffer; and puts uneven pressure on our knees, hips and low back joints.

Uneven pressure on our joints causes dehydration in the joints and leads to degeneration also known as arthritis.

So how important is walking? It’s about as important as water and air, but you need to be doing it properly.

If you are currently walking without this cross crawl pattern, then you are destined for low back pain, hip pain, knee pain and arthritis.

So what is the solution? Relearn the cross crawl pattern through specific exercises, stretches and activities.

What if I already have pain in the joints and arthritis?

The good news is there are options that are better for you than pain meds, longer lasting than steroid injections, and way less invasive than surgery. But the longer you wait, the more arthritis and degeneration will occur.

PC Medical Centers is here to help you not only get out of pain but to relearn the cross crawl pattern and get back to enjoying your life.