Back pain is an unfortunate malady that plagues many people all throughout America. While certain forms of severe back pain definitely requires medical treatment, there are also many lifestyle changes that can assist with alleviating back pain. Walking is something that is relatively easy to do and to incorporate into everyday life, as well as one of the most overlooked ways that can be utilized to assist in relieving and preventing flareups of lower back pain in the future. Read on to learn more about how walking can assist in back pain relief. Innovative Pain Solutions is a provider of pain management Orlando residents trust. Call Innovative Pain Solutions today to schedule an appointment.
Walking Can Help With Back Pain
There are two specific and direct benefits that the addition of a regular walking routine to your lower back treatment program can provide. Firstly, walking strengthens the muscles that work to support your spine. The trunk, core, and lumbar (lower back) muscles all play a vital role in creating the stability and movement of your lower back. With today’s sedentary office lifestyle, these muscles can end up becoming deconditioned and weak, resulting in malalignment of the spine. Over a period of time, there can end up being an increase in muscular weakness, fatigue, injury, and pain. Moreover, the overall mass of your spinal muscles can also be reduced. With a proper walking routine, the health of your back muscles can be improved in these ways:
- Increases blood flow- A lack of physical activity can result in the small blood vessels of your spine to constrict, which cuts down on the blood flow to the spinal muscles. Walking helps to open up these blood vessels, which optimizes the supply of oxygen and nutrients to these muscles.
- Flushes out toxins- Muscles produce physiologic toxins when they contract and expand, and over time these toxins can all settle within the lower back muscle tissues and and result in stiffness. Walking helps to get rid of these toxins and optimize flexibility.
All of these factors come together to build strength in the muscles of your lower back, which all adds to the strength and integrity of your lower back.
Back Pain Relief From Walking
The second major benefit from walking is that it increases the flexibility in your lower back. Innovative Pain Solutions, who provides pain management Orlando residents trust, note that too little physical activity can cause the muscles and joints in the hips and lower back to stiffen. This stiffness creates increased pressure on the lumbar spine, or the lower back, changing its regular curvature. Walking also optimizes flexibility through stretching the muscles and ligaments in the back, legs, and buttocks. After you walk, specific muscles, such as the hamstrings, erector muscles of the spine, and hip flexor muscles are stretched and activated. There are also some other additional health benefits of walking, lower back pain aside. These benefits include: reducing and/or maintaining an optimal weight, keeping blood pressure under control, improving the levels of total cholesterol, decreasing anxiety and depression, and cutting down the risk of heart disease and dementia.
Contact Us Today
Walking can majorly benefit back pain relief. Innovative Pain Solutions provides pain management Orlando residents rely on. Call Innovative Pain Solutions today for a consultation.
