Drop blood pressure: Stretch or walk? Stretching may be more effective than brisk walking at lowering blood pressure.
“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
― Pablo Picasso
As you enter this new year, you may have decided to walk more or do more weight lifting. I will ask you to consider adding some stretching into your daily routine, especially if you have high blood pressure. Here’s why: New research hints that, for those with high blood pressure (hypertension), stretching may be more effective than brisk walking at lowering blood pressure.
High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, which are the number one cause of death globally. In the United States, the management of high blood pressure is the most common reason for office visits to medical professionals (for non-pregnant adults) and chronic prescription medications.
Up to 46 percent of US adults have high blood pressure. Of equal concern to me is that approximately one-half of these individuals have inadequate blood pressure control.
Drop blood pressure: Stretch or walk? Stretching may be more effective than brisk walking at lowering blood pressure.
Now comes new research suggesting that stretching may be more effective than brisk walking at lowering blood pressure among those with hypertension. It seems stretching is not only about your muscles. You also pull the blood vessels (such as the arteries) that feed into the muscle. Stretch, and you reduce the stiffness of the walls of your arteries. This reduction in wall stiffness leads to less resistance to blood flow. Voila! Lower blood pressure.
Here’s what the researchers did: In the study, stretching went head-to-head against brisk walking in an eight-week trial involving people with moderate elevations of blood pressure. One group did a 30-minute stretching session five times per week, while the other group members walked briskly for a comparable amount of time. The subjects did not know the purpose of the experiment.
Before and after the eight-week course, researchers recorded the subjects’ blood pressure in three ways:
- With participants sitting.
- With participants lying down.
- Over 24 hours using a portable blood pressure monitor.
Both groups had similar dietary salt intakes. They also had similar physical activity outside of the study. After eight weeks, with blood pressure measurements adjusted to baseline and averaged for each group, the scientists found that:
Those who did stretching had more significant reductions in their blood pressure (compared to the walkers).
Drop blood pressure: Stretch or walk? Stretching may be more effective than brisk walking at lowering blood pressure. Please go here to learn more:
