10 Best Running Poles

Best Running Poles in 2023

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Walking Incorrectly Doesn't, in and of Itself, Cause Any Disease. Notes from the Camino in Spain.

Why walking sticks don't work and what they may have been used for in the past.

Ever have a sticker in your shorts? It may be small, but it sure can be troublesome. Would we take a pain reliever to get rid of it? Probably not. So, why wouldn't it make sense to find the cause of a headache or other problem and remove it just like we would the sticker? Maybe, after three times of actually going to the cause, it would become a habit to be more thoughtful about our health.

Do you like to walk? Do you use a walking stick? Do you have problems with your Achilles tendon, knees or hips? If you're right handed the tendon, knee and hip problems will most likely be on the left side. Why is that?

While walking slowly past a table or counter approximately waist high, put some weight on the surface with the hand on that side. Push down slowly and notice where your weight is transferred to and what you have to do to maintain your balance. What's the natural reaction to weight transfer?

What happens when our balance is thrown off? In order to compensate we lean the other way, push back with the side that the weight has been transferred to and place stress on the entire body. Carrying a stick around adds extra weight, especially to one side and is a drain on energy. Put a wrist weight on one side and carry it around for a few hours.

Everyone I encountered on the Camino in Spain who carried a walking stick, had Achilles tendon problems. Some told me it took the strain off their knees on the downhill sections. If we look at the body's structure, carrying a walking stick will, at best, only take pressure off the knee on the side the stick is on. That pressure is then transferred to the other side. It's a simple shift of weight and energy. If you were to use two walking sticks, the possibility of relieving pressure is more likely. The problem was, most people I saw were trying more to pull themselves along with the sticks, like cross-country skiing, than they were trying to transfer some of the pressure to the shoulders.

We're bipeds, not quadrupeds. Our body structure is designed for standing up straight, not slouching forward, bending over or crawling on hands and feet. Those that I met, including one in our party, who used a walking stick, were always overly tired at the end of the day. Dragging oneself around by one arm makes anyone tired.

One person said walking sticks must work or the early pilgrims wouldn't have used them. Watch Friar Tuck facing off with Little John in Robin hood and you'll know what walking sticks, or staffs, were used for. Pilgrims of old had lots of problems and bandits were one.

I met a man and woman on the plane back to the US. They'd immigrated from Spain some forty years before and live in San Antonio, TX. He was a retired history, Spanish, English teacher and counselor. His hobby was Spanish and Middle Ages history. He told me the use of incense in the church was because it took away the odor of the pilgrims throughout the ages and that very few know where it even started. Now it's a tradition, maybe a habit.

Walking sticks may have a similar history. They used to be for defense and now, if you want to look like a pilgrim, you use one. Maybe that's part of the suffering some think pilgrims and those seeking any form of health, have to go through.

Maybe suffering through wouldn't be necessary, if we'd take the time to remove the sticker.