Practiced twice a week, Nordic walking can help by stimulating weight loss and ‘slowing down’ the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Trying to lose weight can be difficult, especially if you don’t like exercise, but enthusiasts have found that the technique of “Nordic walking” can help with weight loss and also “slow down” the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s is a debilitating condition and the most common form of dementia, affecting daily life, especially for those over 65 years of age. Being sedentary, not getting enough sleep and having a poor diet can be factors in increasing the risks of developing this disease.
But, Nordic walking has been shown to slow the progression of dementia. The technique, which has grown in popularity in recent years, was studied by scientists in Italy who found a link between this walking exercise and the prevention of dementia.
Moreover, this walking technique can burn 20% more calories compared to other types of walking.
What is “Nordic Walking”?
Nordic Walking is a form of exercise that uses the whole body thanks to the fact that it uses walking sticks, specially designed for this type of activity. Thanks to the poles, the activity can help you “burn 20% more calories than walking without poles.” Walking sticks are used to help you move during a brisk walk and will give your body a full workout compared to a casual walk.
It also helps release tension from the neck and shoulders, as well as improve posture, gait, back strength and abdominal muscle strength. In addition, it helps to reduce the impact on the joints, so it is a good way to stimulate weight loss without the risk of accidents.
Walking has many other health benefits, including the prevention and management of various conditions such as high blood pressure.
Scientists from the University of Molise, Italy, studied 30 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s and put them through a different range of treatments that could help address symptoms. These treatments included physiotherapy to help increase physical well-being, as well as music therapy to help halt memory decline.
Half of the group also took part in Nordic walking twice a week for six months, and the walkers ended up scoring much higher on memory, attention span and brain processing speed, compared to those who did not do this activity. They also scored higher on tests of visual-spatial reasoning – including mental math and string matching.
The report was published in the science journal Heliyon, and the scientists suggested that people who have just been diagnosed with dementia would benefit from the Nordic walking technique.
“If these results are confirmed by further studies, then Nordic walking may be a safe and useful strategy to slow cognitive impairment in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease,” concludes the study.
If you want to take up Nordic walking, you’ll first need to buy a pair of Nordic walking poles – specially designed to provide propulsion when in use.
Nordic walking instructor Michael Stone explained the method:
Foto: Shuttesrtock
1. You need to make sure that the sticks are suitable for your body height
When holding the pole upright with your arm close to your body, your elbow should be at a 90 degree angle
2. To walk, you should contact the ground first with the heel, then roll the sole to the toe, which reduces the pressure on the joints
3. Gently push off your toes with each step
4. Take long, but natural steps for your body
5. Lean forward slightly when walking
6. Push the sticks into the ground when you step
7. Make sure you keep your shoulders down and relaxed to avoid tension
8. Increase speed to burn more calories by increasing push-off power from the toes. Then speed up the swing of the arm to get more power.
Source: Mirror
2024-01-17 08:39:56
#advantages #Nordic #walking #technique #bring #Click #Sanatate
