Listening to someone describe their experience of passing a kidney stone, should inspire anyone to do what they can to avoid it themselves.  Stepping up exercise appears to be one way this can be achieved.  A study published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology sheds light on how increasing physical activity can result in a significant difference whether a person may form a kidney stone or not.

Kidney stones are a common, painful condition occurring when a small, hard deposit typically consisting of insoluble calcium compounds, forms in the kidneys and is quite painful to pass. Every year in the United States, more than a million people will suffer the pain of passing a kidney stone.  In recent years, women have been developing kidney stones at a higher rate than ever before and is believed to be due to a higher prevalence of obesity.

The consensus of how a kidney stone arises is showing more of a link associated with obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease.  Research has shown that stone formation involves more than just the kidneys. A study conducted at the University of Washington School of Medicine evaluated whether calorie intake and physical activity were related to kidney stone formation.  Participants in this research were more than 84,000 postmenopausal women who had been participating in the Women’s Health Initiative since the 1990s.

What the research found was that physical activity was associated with up to a 31% reduced risk of kidney stones formation.  The exercise did not have to be on the level of something as taxing as running a marathon. The women could still get the maximum benefits by walking three hours a week at an average speed of 2-3 mph, doing four hours of gardening, or one hour of moderate jogging at 6 mph.

Another discovery from the study was that women consuming more than 2200 calories each day also increased their risk of developing kidney stones by up to 42%.  This then would also make obesity or excess weight gain a risk factor for stone formation.

This study highlights the fact that increasing physical activity and maintaining a healthy body can help reduce kidney stones.  The study authors pointed out that this research only included postmenopausal women and would need to be replicated in other populations. 

In the meantime, there are steps one can take to keep their kidneys healthy and stone free:

·         Exercise on a consistent, regular basis

·         Maintain a healthy body weight

·         Drink sufficient water during the day to where your urine is very pale

·         Reduce sodium intake to no more than 2300 milligrams a day

·         Calcium supplements have been linked to an increased risk of kidney stone formation – consult with your doctor for their advice.