BehindTheMedspeak: Walking on cobblestones lowers blood pressure

Old ways are the best ways.

How else to interpret the results of recent work out of the Oregon Research Institute, as reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society?

Scientists there found that walking on uneven, river rock–like surfaces improved balance as well as reducing blood pressure in adults over 60.

Cobblestone–like walking paths are common in China. (Pictured above and below are parks and public spaces in Shanghai.)

Investigators from the research institute decided to perform a controlled study of walking on bumpy vs. flat surfaces after observing people in China exercising and walking back and forth over traditional stone paths.

Chinese medicine believes that the uneven surfaces of the cobblestones stimulate and regulate the "acupoints" located on the soles of the feet.