Should you Walk or Run for your Health ?
- Nature Source Chaude
- Published on
- Updated on 2 April 2025
Physical exercise is often essential in the quest for human wellness, especially to support regeneration. The benefits can be numerous, both physically and mentally. However, the multiplication of physical exercises today means that it is sometimes difficult to find one’s way around. Walking can be seen as boring, not ‘explosive’ enough, not intense enough or too time-consuming. And yet…
In this article I invite you to take a tour into the heart of the human being by looking at a very special organ : the bone. This organ is certainly the least popular among the liver, intestines, skin and so on. In fact, these well-known organs are known as ’emunctories’ and they’re among the most important organs involved in eliminating waste.
So why is there so little interest in bone? Perhaps because bone can be perceived as an inert organ, when in fact the opposite is true. In fact, the more a bone is properly exercised, the more profound the benefits for the whole body. So what kind of exercise has the biggest impact on bones?
IN SUMMARY :
Bone, at the core of regeneration
First and foremost, it’s worth remembering that bone is very much alive. The living structures of bone respond to the stresses they are subjected to and grow stronger the more they are stressed. Bone includes the red marrow found in the ribs, pelvic bones, skull and vertebrae. It’s this red bone marrow that we’ll be focusing on in this article. Although there is also yellow bone marrow, which is made up of fat. In fact, both are vital.
As a whole, the bone marrow is the body’s main cradle for the production of stem cells, which contribute to the regeneration of a large number of the body’s cells.
Bone marrow, the body's main regenerative system
In what way is it important? Quite simply because the stem cells derived from bone marrow give rise to all blood cells (red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells), bone tissue and connective tissue.
This contributes significantly to the repair of many of the body’s cells. This study[1] gives us some figures to illustrate the significant activity that goes on in the bone marrow. A person makes about 10 billion white blood cells, 200 billion red blood cells and 400 billion platelets every day, and loses as many every day. The spleen, for example, destroys the same number of red blood cells every day.
What’s more, according to a meta-analysis[2] published in 2003 that combines several publications, their potential for transformation into other cells (liver, kidney, lung, etc.) could be even more extensive. In this way, bone marrow could become the body’s main regenerative system.
So, how can physical exercise give the bone marrow a boost? Especially as stimulating cell renewal also means replacing old cells with younger, much more active ones.
Two types of physical exercises
Firstly, we’re going to look at two types of physical exercise whose impact on the bone marrow can vary greatly.
Physical exercises with a dynamic load
Walking is doubtlessly the exercise that influences bone marrow stimulation most favourably. When a person walks, the bones are subjected to specific mechanical stresses and stimuli. With each step, the bones have to bear a dynamic load, i.e. the weight of the person.
Moreover, this weight is also borne by the bones when the body is subjected to a “stride” or “jump”. These movements require you to stand vertically on your bases (your feet). Our brains also tend to naturally minimise effort, so it’s often difficult to find the resources to simply stand upright. This represents a first difficulty. Standing upright requires a physical effort that uses muscles and bones that are no longer needed in our modern society. Once this sedentary behaviour has been overcome, ‘movement’, through ‘ impact’, will deeply stimulate the bones and bone marrow and encourage the release of stem cells.
A study[3] published in 2018 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research is the first to show that high-impact physical activity keeps bone marrow younger and less fatty. Healthy red marrow can turn into yellow or fatty marrow when stem cell production declines.
Physical exercise is particularly important for building bone and preventing bone loss. As mentioned earlier in this article, the exercises that should be favoured are those that enable the bones to bear weight by taking a ‘step’, ‘stride’ or ‘jump’.
These high-impact activities, which combine ‘stepping’, ‘stride’ and ‘jumping’, help to build bone tissue more efficiently and keep bone marrow younger.
An increase in the number of physical exercises with a static load
When the body is subjected to a physical activity with a static load, it is usually on a support.
Nowadays, the proliferation of static-load physical exercises means that it’s even possible to combine different movements in a sitting, lying or even standing position, without even having to lift a foot. Many machines encourage you to work your muscles and cardiovascular system while protecting your joints.
On the other hand, these non-impact physical activities do not effectively stimulate the bones and therefore the bone marrow. In fact, the bone marrow does not seem to release any (or very few) additional stem cells compared to the initial level of stem cells circulating in the blood, as the following study shows.
According to one study[4], the level of stem cell release in the participants was actually too low to be detected after arow testing, although cytokines could be detected in their blood. Cytokines are the body’s response to stress, such as exercise. There are about a hundred cytokines, substances secreted by the immune system. Two cytokines are closely associated with the process of releasing stem cells from the bone marrow and are called ‘G-CSF’ and ‘Interleukin 6’[5].
Thus, the type, intensity and duration of exercise, as well as the physical condition of the individual, seem to modulate the release of certain cytokines and growth factors.
‘A man who doesn't walk leaves no traces’.
Walking vs. cycling
According to the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, a study[3] reveals that participants who took part in static-load physical activity such as road cycling with a high training volume had a similar accumulation of adipose tissue (fat) in their bone marrow to that of the ‘sedentary’ group. These two groups even had comparable bone density in the lumbar region.
This can be explained by the fact that cycling (like rowing) is above all a static-load exercise in which the feet are on a support (pedals), do not move and are not subjected to any impact during the effort. So, as we have seen, physical activity without impact would not stimulate the bones in any profound way.
Differences between walking and running
The simplest things are usually the most profound.
In the past, bones were stimulated on a daily basis because feet were an essential working tool in many, if not most, professions.
The appearance of the first factories in the 19th century gradually changed this dynamic. Today, most jobs are no longer defined by walking. Many new ways of getting around even allow us to do without our natural mode of locomotion, walking, as much as possible. In some cases, certain physical activities, such as running, have even replaced walking for a variety of reasons. Although the two have one thing in common: a high-impact activity.
However, walking differs from running because there is always at least one point of support in contact with the ground. The load on the spinal column is constant and not excessive, providing a more balanced stimulus of the bone marrow. The weight of the person is supported alternately by a single limb, allowing the bones to be subjected to specific stresses. Depending on the nature of the terrain and the speed of the walker, the variation in stimuli and the specific stresses imposed on the entire bone and muscle system are going to stimulate a range of varied physiological responses.
Running, on the other hand, requires more energy. Some of this chemical energy is transformed into elastic transmission, enabling you to make “leaps”. This saves energy but also multiplies the impact on the ground by 2 or 3. Each kilogram is therefore multiplied by 2 or more. This additional load imposes a non-linear and sometimes excessive loading stress on the spinal column . It should be taken into account in the risk of injury to joints and tendons, even though it normally strengthens them. Running also puts more pressures on your muscles than walking, and presents a higher risk of injury.
So, depending on the type of exercise, bones and muscles respond in an anabolic way to the specific mechanical stimuli inflicted on them. These mechanical and hormonal stimuli are important because they closely regulate bone remodelling, which is a continual process that alternates between resorption and accretion.
Consequently, the more the bones are stimulated in a certain way, the more the bone marrow is too. The forces from the ground (in reaction to the person’s load) transmitted in the form of waves to the entire bone and muscle system differ according to the nature of the movement and the ground attack of the foot. Here again, the risk of foot injury is higher in runners whose foot strike can sometimes lack control.
Walking : where to start?
Although less popular than running, moderate-intensity walking can sometimes give slightly better results. We’ll see just below that regular practice is already a good starting point before playing with speed, rhythm or duration.
Walking and the health of your bones
To introduce this part, we’re going to look at the right frequency of output to adopt in order to derive maximum benefit.
Physical exercise is particularly important for building bone and preventing bone loss. As mentioned earlier in this article, the exercises that should be favoured are those that enable the bones to bear weight by taking a “step“, “stride” or “jump“.
According to a study[6] published in The American Journal of Medicine, bone density and the rate of bone loss in women are linked to their daily walking habits. Women who walked as little as 1 mile (1.60 km) a day had higher bone density than those who walked shorter distances.
It should be noted that the amplitude, speed and frequency of steps are important for the bone to generate an adaptive response to mechanical load. But in this study, walking a very short distance (1.60 km), and above all every day , appears to have a beneficial effect on bone tissue. The study does not mention either the speed or the frequency of steps.
Research [7] shows that ten minutes of brisk (or moderate) walking a day can also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
So it’s best to walk every day, as we’ll see in the next part.
Walking vs. running, how many times a week?
Daily walking can help maintain a favourable balance between the rate of regeneration and the rate of degradation. Ideally, the daily production of stem cells should exceed the number of stem cells used up by the body. But to achieve this, the recovery time from physical activity should be short.
Let’s take the extreme case of a marathon[3]. After a marathon, the bone marrow is strongly stimulated, but for a very short time (less than 24 hours). Although stem cell production is very high (x4), it returns to normal the next morning.
However, such an event may require up to three weeks of recovery and several days of rest. During this time, the bone marrow receives little or no stimulation (if you don’t walk). What’s more, such an ordeal can be traumatic for the body, which is why a high level of stem cells is needed (after the race) to repair many of the lesions. The bone has to repair itself, become denser and stronger for future outings. It adapts.
So, regardless of the intensity or duration of physical activity performed the day before, the rate of stem cell production seems to return to normal the next morning. The ideal would therefore be to do a physical activity that can be repeated every day. Walking comes out on top because it not only stimulates the bone marrow on a daily basis, but also allows for optimal recovery, which is not always the case with running. The more often you walk, the more cumulative the benefits.
It is therefore important to practise a dynamically loaded exercise that can be done every day (if possible) and to stick to it over time. In addition to the production of stem cells by the bone marrow, a large number of protective molecules are secreted by the body during and after exercise, and these molecules only have a lifespan of 24 hours (and often less) to 48 hours. Once you are used to exercising (walking), you can increase the intensity or duration of your exercise to further enhance the benefits.
The intensity of your walk
Une étude[8] démontre qu’une marche modérée et une course à pied vigoureuse offrent des résultats similaires sur des pathologies tels que l’hypertension, le cholestérol et le diabète.
Lorsque la pratique de la marche est devenu régulière, il est ensuite possible de potentialiser ses effets en augmentant son intensité, jusqu’à ce que celle-ci se déroule à allure modérée. Le rythme de marche ou encore la nature du terrain sont des leviers particulièrement intéressants pour en maximiser les bienfaits.
Une vitesse à un rythme dynamique de l’ordre de 4 à 5 km à l’heure est recommandée.
L’entraînement en côte est un milieu qui peut également catalyser ses bienfaits. Le relief en plaine ou en montagne est, en règle générale, plus difficile pour la pratique d’une activité physique et demande plus d’efforts. Les terrains inégaux et accidentés affectent plus profondément la moelle osseuse en imposant des contraintes mécaniques plus variées à chaque pas.
Ce type d’environnement accidenté et rude demande souvent plus de motricité et plus de concentration pour le marcheur, surtout lorsque le milieu devient plus minérale. Cette motricité favorise un travail plus global et plus profond du corps.
La durée de la marche
Toujours dans l’étude[6] parue en 2018 dans le “Journal of Bone and Mineral Research” portant sur les activités physiques à fort impact, on retrouve une corrélation significative entre le nombre de kilomètres parcourus par semaine et le taux de graisse retrouvé dans la moelle osseuse.
Ainsi, l’exercice physique longue distance provoque une contrainte de charge plus importante sur la colonne vertébrale provoquant un fort stimuli de la moelle osseuse. Il va donc de soi que plus on marche et plus les bienfaits qui en découlent sont importants.
Une activité physique au grand air
Il est aussi primordial de prendre en compte à la fois l’exercice physique et l’horloge biologique (entre autre). Toutes les cellules souches issues de la moelle osseuse ont un rythme circadien. Elles restent sensibles aux signaux environnementaux reçus par le corps, c’est à dire la lumière. Pour bénéficier pleinement des avantages apportés par l’activité physique, la pratique au grand air est préférable. L’intensité lumineuse en extérieur peut être jusqu’à 100 fois supérieure à un environnement couvert. Ce paramètre n’est pas à prendre à la légère puisque la lumière est comme un nutriment qui agit à tout les niveaux de biologie de l’organisme.
La marche permet de recevoir plus de lumière du jour car on prend plus de temps pour apprécier les choses qui nous entourent.
References
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