Walking to reduce inflammation: What you need to know

To be clear, inflammation is not necessarily a bad thing. It is your immune system’s natural defense mechanism that helps detect and then attack or remove harmful bacteria, viruses or other harmful things from your system. This inflammatory response can cause pain, redness and swellingalthough specific symptoms depend on the injury, subject and body part.

Ideally, inflammation is temporary: your body’s defense system turns on in response to a threat, then shuts down once the threat is dealt with. But sometimes, your immune system doesn’t know how to turn off and continues to attack perceived threats to your body. This is called chronic inflammation and can cause it is extremely harmful if left untreated. Chronic inflammation is linked to many serious diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cancer, stroke and autoimmune conditions¹.

Fortunately, there are ways to moderate inflammation in everyday life: eating certain foods that fight inflammation, managing stress (which can cause inflammation), and yes, even exercise. And no, you don’t need to commit to a daily HIIT class or train for a marathon in order to reduce your risk of inflammation. Experts say walking on the reg can do a lot to keep inflammation at bay.

How walking helps reduce inflammation

“Physical activity, including walking, has a known anti-inflammatory effect on the body,” he says Isabelle AmiguesMD, a rheumatologist based in Denver, CO. A 2017 study published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity found exactly that 20 minutes of moderate exercise on the treadmill helped reduce the activity of inflammatory cells² (specifically, production of white blood cells involved in the immune response). Earlier research from 2015 also shows that people who walk more tend to have lower levels of inflammation, although it notes that the evidence is still mixed.

In addition, “exercise reduces fat stores that have been linked to boosting the inflammatory process,” he says. Stella Bard, MD, a rheumatologist who specializes in a range of inflammatory conditions. (And walking definitely counts as exercise.) Essentially, “white adipose tissue,” a specific type of body fat, produces its own hormones and cytokines (inflammatory white blood cells). one Excess of this tissue is associated with chronic inflammation³. “By moving or walking, we can help reduce adipose tissue and therefore inflammation,” says Dr. Amigues.

Walking also supports other areas of your health, which can then reduce inflammation. For example, walking helps reduce stress⁴, a key trigger of inflammation. “Walking can be a stress-relieving activity, especially if it’s done in a natural environment,” explains Dr. Amigues. “Walking can also help with better sleep quality, and we know that Quality sleep is paramount to helping our immune system⁵“, he adds.

How much walking does it take to reduce inflammation?

There is no hard or fast rule for how long you should walk each day to reduce inflammation. But Dr. Bard suggests walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week — on par with weekly exercise recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

If you haven’t been walking consistently, you should start slowly and gradually increase your workouts in duration, intensity, and frequency. “Starting with an hour’s high-intensity brisk walk, if not preceded by regular exercise, can lead to more damage,” warns Dr. Amigues. “I recommend aiming to build up slowly, in 10-minute increments, up to 40 minutes a day of brisk walking. The idea is to walk fast enough that you feel your heart rate go up a bit.”

Dr. Amigues says that if you’re walking to reduce inflammation and improve your health, the goal should be to walk every day and be consistent. “Walking really fast for a long time one day every month is not as helpful as a moderately brisk walk lasting 40 minutes every day,” he notes.

Can he ever walk increase inflammation?

Dr. Amigues says that regular moderate-intensity physical activity, performed consistently, is generally anti-inflammatory for the body. However, there are some cases where walking or other forms of exercise can lead to complications, including increased inflammation. “Excessive training and joint overuse, injury, lack of recovery, as well as dehydration, among others, can increase inflammation,” warns Dr. Amigues. “Patients should stay well hydrated and walk at a moderate pace, increasing the duration and intensity over time to prevent such complications.”

Other exercises that may reduce joint pain and inflammation

Dr. Amigues says that in addition to walking for exercise, any form of low-intensity exercise tends to be a good choice for patients who have inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), chronic pain, and more. “Qigong and tai chi, which we know also help with fibromyalgia, are great,” she says. “Swimming is a great workout because it allows for resistance-free exercise,” she adds (which can be easier on the joints and allow people to exercise more without pain). “Yoga can also be a good source of exercise, but for some patients, this can take some time.”

So even if you don’t love walking or want to supplement your workouts with other forms of exercise to reduce inflammation (and the pain associated with inflammatory conditions), there are many options to choose from. According to Dr. Amigues, “the goal is to enjoy the exercise we do and to do it consistently.”