January
2013
To Walk Or Not To Walk
Dr. Elena Furrow
Lolo Family Medicine
11350 Hwy. 93 South
Lolo, MT 59847
If you’re not a tri-athlete and don’t run marathons or anything more than a couple of blocks at a time, don’t fret,
walking can be your exercise. Studies have shown the benefits of walking for your overall health. Regular walking can
help maintain weight loss. In fact per mile, brisk walking can burn as many calories as jogging. Walking allows you to
get an aerobic exercise work out to improve your circulation and heart health thus reducing your risk of heart disease.
As walking is weight bearing exercise it can also help increase your bone density to help prevent bone thinning or osteoporosis and it can even improve conditions such as osteoarthritis of the knees and hips. Last but not least, walking can
also be a therapeutic way to help you relax and reduce stress and anxiety in your busy life.
Walking is an inexpensive and convenient way to get outdoors most seasons to get some exercise. The best
plan is to stretch before you start and then walk at a slow to normal pace for about 5 minutes. After the warm up increase your pace to a brisk walk so that you break a sweat and your heart rate increases and try to keep this pace for at
least 30 minutes, then cool down by slowing your pace for another 5 minutes before you stop. Don’t forget to stretch
again after stopping.
Make sure you check with your doctor before starting a program like this if you have any chronic medical conditions including heart or lung disease to make sure you are healthy enough to walk and help individualize a walking
program for you. Your doctor can also help determine your target heart rate range if you are going to monitor this.
10 Things you can do to Increase Walking :
1. Make a date with a walking partner (friend, spouse, neighbor). You are more likely to go if someone else is
counting on you. Set a regular time and day and make it a routine.
2. Get a dog. They are a good excuse to get you out for a walk every day even if only for a stroll around the neighborhood.
3. Buy good shoes. You can buy shoes for running or trail walking. Make sure the shoes fit you comfortably , are
well-cushioned and have good arch support. Always wear socks to protect your skin from blisters. In the winter consider buying good boots, snowshoes, Crampons or Yak Trax to make walking in the snow and ice less treacherous. Use a
walking stick if you don’t have good balance or plan on going up hills.
4. Join a gym. There are plenty of places to work out at gym or health club facilities in town. If this is not an affordable option, consider buying a treadmill to use at home. Then you can walk while watching your favorite TV
shows.
5. Use a Pedometer. These little devices measure how many steps you take a day and can be purchased at most
sporting stores. Set yourself a goal of certain number of steps a day (start with 5,000) and ultimately try to reach a goal
of 10,000. One Harvard study showed that men who take at least 6,000 steps a day had a lower death rate than those
January 2013
Page 2
who walk less.
6. Park far away. If you’re not in a rush, don’t take
the closest parking spot. Instead park farther away from
your destination so that you have to walk some to get
there.
7. Take the stairs. Usually there are stairs accessible,
so avoid the elevator and walk!
8. Go shopping. If you don’t like walking outside in
inclement weather, go to the mall where it’s warm inside
and take your time shopping or stroll around to get your
walk in. The Mall opens for walkers at 6AM. This way
you can support the local economy as well as stay in
shape.
9. Walk the “M”. Show your support for the University of Montana by more than going to a football game and
hike the ”M” on Mount Sentinel once a month. Take your
time, the views are worth it! Be careful during the winter
as it can get slippery.
10. Enjoy Missoula. Not a day passes that I don’t find
myself in awe of the natural beauty of the landscape here
in Montana. Get outside and enjoy big sky country!
In summary, regular walking is beneficial to your health in
many ways. So walk, walk, walk and live longer and
healthier lives!
For more information about walking visit the
following web sites: Shape Up America
www.shapeup.org, President’s Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports www.fitness.gov,
YMCA/YWCA www.ymca.net.
Aspirin
Dr. Chris Smith
Family Medicine
Broadway Building
Missoula, MT 59802
One in five Americans report taking aspirin daily. Is such widespread use helpful or harmful? Who
should take aspirin? Aspirin has many effects including
pain relief (analgesia), reduction of fever (antipyretic),
and it functions as an anti-inflammatory. Aspirin use,
in the form of willow bark tea, was first documented as
a fever reducer by the ancient Romans thousands of
years ago. The current form of aspirin was developed
in 1897 by the Bayer Corporation in Germany and within a few years was being used around the world. Today
aspirin is one the most widely used drugs around the
world. When taken regularly, it is used to prevent cardiovascular disease such as heart attack and stroke. Un-
fortunately, aspirin also has an effect on the stomach
lining that increases the chances of ulcer and severe
stomach bleeding.
The primary benefit of daily aspirin (81 mg per
day) in an individual with no history of cardiovascular
disease is a reduction of the chances of a first cardiovascular event by about a quarter (although some experts
feel the benefit is closer to a third). How much an individual benefits depends upon their chances of cardiovascular disease; the higher the chances of cardiovascular disease the greater the absolute benefit. For example a person with a 10% chance of a heart attack would
reduce his/her chances to 7.5% by taking aspirin, whereas an individual with a 1% chance would reduce the
chance to 0.75% with daily aspirin. The risk of cardiovascular disease is usually discussed in terms of 10 year
risk so that a 10% chance is the chance of having an
event in the next decade. Risks can be calculated at
http://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/index.html under
risk score profiles. It is very important to keep in mind
most risk calculators (including the aforementioned one)
do not account for family history, diet and fitness level,
all of which will greatly affect an individual’s chances
of cardiovascular disease. Because of the limitations of
these types of calculators the calculated risk must be
considered a rough estimate that might be higher or
lower than a person’s actual risk when family history,
diet, and fitness are factored in.
On the other hand, the main side effect of aspirin is bleeding - in particular bleeding from ulcer.
Hemorrhagic stroke is also a risk but much less common than ulcers. The risk of ulcer leading to death or
hospitalization with aspirin use rises with age. The absolute risk of ulceration severe enough to cause death or
hospitalization in someone with no history of stomach
ulcers is roughly 1% for younger men and rises to 4%
for older men per decade of aspirin use. Individuals
with a history of ulcers or other stomach problems are at
higher risk of ulcer.
Weighing all these factors, most people would
benefit from daily aspirin if their risk of coronary heart
disease exceeds 10%, and many younger people would
benefit from aspirin A even at lower coronary risk levels because the reduction in cardiovascular risk exceeds
the increased risk of bleeding. Bottom line: aspirin is
cheap, available and very effective. However, it is not
for everyone, and the risk benefit analysis is important.
Furthermore, other interventions in place of or in addition to aspirin for high risk individuals should be considered. This is a perfect topic to discuss with your
primary care physician in the context of a preventative
care visit at which time all risk factors and history can
January
2013
Page 3
Make Time —— and Space — — for Winter Workouts!!
Create a Home Gym Cold weather and short days make it harder to exercise outdoors in the winter. For
those times when it's too wet, too cold or just too dark to work out outdoors, why not retreat to your own home
gym? For a minimal investment, you can transform a small area of your home into an exercise space with many
of the exercise benefits of a commercial gym.
Pick the Spot The first step is to identify a place in your home where you won't be distracted. The area should
be large enough that you can stretch out in all directions without touching anything. If you have slippery floors
you may want to use a yoga mat to work out on. It may be helpful to have a flight of stairs nearby (we'll get to
that below).
Warm up your new gym's surroundings by hanging up a travel poster of a favorite sun-drenched beach or surf
break.
What will you do in your new gym? An exercise plan should cover the three main components of physical
fitness: cardiovascular, strength and flexibility.
Cardiovascular exercise is an important part of your fitness program. Getting your blood pumping is vital to
improving heart and lung function, and plays a critical role in weight management. Exercise bikes can be a great
way to get cardiovascular exercise at home. While a new one is costly, it is possible to get bargains on used bikes
through Craigslist; a local gym may sell them as well. Another home option for your cardio workout is to work out
along with a video. Choose from workout videos that target your abs, arms, back, butt, or thighs, or go for a total-body workout video. Or you can keep it simple by doing jumping jacks or step-ups at the bottom of a flight of
stairs.
Strength Training You have a range of options for creating a strength-training routine in your home. A lot of
exercises can be performed without any equipment, such as push-ups, body-weight squats and more. If you want
to get more out of your home strength exercises, you can purchase equipment to use as resistance. Barbell
weights are compact enough to be used in the smallest home gym and can be used in a variety of ways to boost
your strength exercises. Elastic resistance bands take up almost no space and with a little creativity you can duplicate almost any exercise you'd normally do with free weights.
Flexibility Training This is an easy one. Flexibility routines from simple stretching to tai chi or yoga can be
done almost anywhere. Flexibility training keeps us limber, increases circulation and improves the functionality of
our muscles and joints. Poke around on YouTube to find some flexibility exercises you like.
D i s c l a i m e r / Te r m s o f U s e
This information is provided to you with the understanding
that it is not to be interpreted as medical or professional
advice. The information should not replace the advice of
your physician. All medical information presented should
be discussed with your healthcare professional.
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