As you probably know by now, I recently started walking on the beach after one of my friends advised me that the sand is better for my knees than the asphalt or the concrete surfaces. I was experiencing some discomfort in my knees and sometimes my feet and ankles after my routine morning walks. My friend suggested walking on the sandy beach because, according to him, the sand acts like a shock absorber and reduces the amount of stress on the affected joints.

I’ve been walking on the beach for several weeks now and I am experiencing much less discomfort in by joints than I did while walking on the asphalt or the concrete surfaces. But as it is with everything there are likes and dislikes regarding this experience.

First let’s look at the likes:

• Less Discomfort: Quite naturally I’m happy that walking in the sand has taken away much of the discomfort when compared to the level I typically felt after walking on the other surfaces.

• Fresh Air: When compared to the park or the road, the air on the beach is 100% cleaner and more refreshing.

• Soothing Sounds of the Waves: The sound of the waves caressing the beach is oh so comforting and relaxing.

• Visits with the Birds and the Fish: The gulls and other birds come to greet you every morning and seem to want to walk with you. Even some fish and stingrays appear to swim along as you make your way from one end of the beach to the next. Interestingly, on a couple of mornings we saw sea turtles bobbing up and down as though they were saying hello.

• Friendliness: For some reason everyone just seems friendlier. They don’t hesitate to say good morning or how are you doing?

Now let’s look at my dislikes

• Soft sand: The soft sand slows my forward progress tremendously. I’d much rather walk on the more compact sand the gives you more firm footing.

• Walking at an angle: Because of the fact that the beach tapers off into the water at an angle when you walk you are always walking as if one leg is longer than the other.

• Getting wet: I usually prefer to walk on the firmer part of the beach which tends to be that part nearest to the water. This is ok as long as I keep my eyes on the waves otherwise I will get caught and splashed unceremoniously.

• Crowded: On some days, especially with school being out, it could get crowded. This sometimes makes it difficult to maneuver comfortably and could possibly result in a degraded walking session.

My transition from walking on to park to walking on the beach has been fairly smooth and truth be told, sometimes I do miss walking on the park. Nonetheless, despite some dislikes, I’m enjoying the beach experience especially knowing that I am continuing to reap the health benefits of walking without the agony of the joint pains.