Nordic Walking is the best rehabilitation for people with heart problems.

One of the basic recommendations for those who have suffered a cardiovascular accident or have a coronary disorder is physical exercise. Whether mild, moderate or strong, experts insist on avoiding a sedentary lifestyle and adapting to the pace that each person is capable of in order to enjoy a better quality of life and with less risk.

However, when the time comes to choose, many individuals find it difficult to choose an activity or sport. Although the easiest are usually walking on the treadmill or pedaling on the stationary bike, this option can be very boring. So a group of scientists endorsed by the Canadian Journal of Cardiology has analyzed the possibilities and discovered that the best option is Nordic walking.

To compare the benefits, the experts had a group of patients with coronary artery problems follow different physical activity programs for 14 weeks. Among the 130 participants, some were selected for high-intensity interval training (HIIT), others for moderate to vigorous exercise in a continuous physical training and a third group was dedicated to Nordic walking, a type of vigorous hiking. with which canes are used to walk.

Of the three options, scientists found that the best for those undergoing rehabilitation for heart problems was Nordic walking. The reason is that although the three options provide prolonged positive effects on functional capacity, quality of life and even act on symptoms of depression, Nordic walking provided additional positive effects on functional capacity because the specific poles of this activity They involve more the muscles of the upper and lower body.

"Nordic walking engages the core, upper and lower body muscles while reducing loading stress on the knee, which may have led to greater improvements in functional capacity," notes the researcher Jennifer L. Reed, from the Heart Institute of the University of Ottawa (Canada) and one of the authors of the study.

Experts quantified these benefits at 19% for Nordic walking, while for HIIT it is 13% and for continuous intense training it is 12%. They also verified that these positive effects are maintained over time in the medium and long term.