Behavioral researchers at the Oregon Institute in the United States investigated the impact of pebbles on health after seeing China people exercising and walking back and forth on the traditional cobblestone road. John Fisher, who led the research, said: "We found that in several cities we visited, people walked on cobblestone paths, some stood on them, sometimes they danced on them, and some even lifted weights on cobblestone roads. We believe that if we can carry out scientific research, we can find out whether they are really beneficial to health. "
Fisher and his colleagues were surprised by the results. They had expected to improve their health by exercising on cobblestone roads, but during the 65,438+06-week study, they found that the blood pressure of volunteers also dropped. "The results are very exciting," said Dr. David Ellison, the chief hypertension researcher at Oregon Health Science University. I wouldn't be surprised if they lost 65,438+00 pounds of meat after exercising on cobblestone pavement for two years. Go to exercise quickly, it will really have a dramatic effect. "
Researchers who benefited from the 100-person simulation experiment also conducted simulation experiments. They installed simulated round pebbles on a specially designed mat 6 feet long and 65,438+0.5 feet wide. Some of the tested volunteers walked back and forth barefoot on it, while others wore socks. They compared it with another controllable group that didn't walk on the mat. Volunteers in this controllable group only walk for one hour every day, three times a week. The research results are published in the latest issue of American Society for the Aged.
Fisher said that almost all the 65,438+008 volunteers said that they felt better after exercise, but half of them, that is, those who walked on pebbles, had significantly improved their balance, physical flexibility and blood pressure. Fisher pointed out that pebbles are very common in China. According to China's traditional medical theory, uneven stone surface can stimulate acupuncture points on the soles of feet. This theory is somewhat similar to acupuncture, that is to say, although some parts of the body are close and some are far away, they are linked by acupoints, and stimulating these acupoints can improve physical and mental health. Why can balance be improved? Although the history of China people walking on cobblestones can be traced back to centuries ago, before that, the research on this fitness method was still blank.
Fay Holak, a neurophysiologist at Oregon Health Science University, said that this study provided evidence for the view that keeping the body flexible and balanced can delay or prevent human aging. He said: "I'm not surprised that this kind of fitness method can improve the balance of the body." There is a lot of evidence that no matter who you are, if you dare to challenge, your balance will improve. "Holak explained that the balance of the human body depends on two complicated methods, one is in the vestibular system of the inner ear, and the other is the somatosensory system that connects the skin with the flesh and blood. Generally speaking, 70% of human balance control depends on the somatosensory system and 30% on the vestibular system. However, when the road is uneven or unstable, the body will depend on the vestibular system. At this time, about 70% balance control of human body depends on vestibular system.
Holak said: "This fitness method is very beneficial to the elderly, because with the increase of age, the receptors in the vestibular system will be lost, but we often walk on uneven or unstable roads. You are actually actively using the vestibular system, and its function may be improved.
The "healthy road" is not suitable for everyone. Four types of people don't step on pebbles.
Q: There is a cobblestone "healthy road" in the fitness center. Occasionally, I walk barefoot. Although the soles of your feet hurt, I think it will definitely work. I recently heard that the "healthy road" is not suitable for everyone. What's the point? Ms. Yin, Minhang District
A: Treading barefoot on cobblestone pavement can stimulate plantar acupoints, dredge plantar blood meridians, exercise plantar muscles and enhance the stability of lower limbs. However, because stepping on the "healthy road" is a strong stimulus to the soles of the feet, it is generally only suitable for short-term practice.
When stepping on cobblestone pavement, you should wear soft-soled shoes or barefoot, because thick-soled hard-soled shoes will block the massage effect of pebbles on the soles of your feet. When practicing, you can do small steps of rotating and stepping, and feel the squeezing feeling of pebbles on the soles of your feet. Learn to grasp the road with your toes to avoid the sole load being too concentrated on the heel and forefoot. Due to wearing shoes for a long time, the load-bearing and grasping functions of human toes, especially the lateral toes, are in a semi-degraded state. Through this exercise, you can exercise the plantar muscles and enhance the load-bearing stability of your feet. During the practice, the soles of your feet should feel comfortable and have the feeling of massage. If the pain is obvious, you should wear soft-soled shoes to practice, or reduce the practice time.
The road conditions of "Healthy Road" are also particular. Pebbles are too sparse and uneven, which not only has poor effect on foot massage, but also easily hurts practitioners. The dense pebbles are the best pavement, and the dense pebbles pavement can make the soles of the feet bear the load evenly and reduce the pain on the soles of the feet.
The following four types of people should not take the "healthy road":
1. Patients with Parkinson's disease, impaired cerebellar balance and cervical spondylotic myelopathy should never do such exercises because they can't control their own steps.
2. Patients with serious hip and knee joint diseases, due to the inflexibility of joints, uneven road surface will increase the load of joints and aggravate the damage of joints.
3. People who stay in bed for a long time or are fixed for a long time because of limb injuries may be in danger because of insufficient muscle strength of lower limbs.
4. People with lower limb muscle weakness due to nervous system diseases should not do this exercise.