Walking with poles, or Nordic Walking, are two very popular types of additional physical activity that provide an alternative to improve physical health. They are designed to activate the muscles of the upper limbs and trunk. The data indicate that walking training can engage up to 90% of the muscles of the entire body. The aim of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of musculoskeletal functioning during natural gait and walking with poles based on the results obtained during numerical simulations. Gait simulations were carried out in AnyBody Modeling System using the dynamic model of the whole human body - FullBody Model available in the AMMR repository. Kinematic data recorded with the BTS Smart optical system was used as input data. In order to register the analyzed activities on the subject's body, 41 passive markers were placed at well-defined anthropometric points according to the Plug-in-Gait model. Meanwhile, the Ground Reaction Force Prediction (GRFP) module available in the software was used to estimate the values of ground reaction forces. The determination of loads occurring in the musculoskeletal system in the AnyBody was done by solving an inverse dynamics task; then, the identification of muscle forces was done using static optimisation. Loads occurring in the lumbar spine, muscular forces of the lower limbs, and muscular fatigue of the whole body were analyzed. All parameters were normalised to 100% of the gait cycle. Walking with poles has an effect on the increase in loads that occur in the lumbar spine and on the functioning of the muscular system. The greatest increase in the resulting value of reaction force at the L5-sacrum segment was registered from 5% to 10% and from 45% to 60% of the gait cycle. Walking with poles, with proper technique, can positively affect the functioning of the human musculoskeletal system. It has been shown that adding poles to walking activates more muscles than during natural walking, which in practice can affect the burning of more calories. Acknowledgement: The study was realised within the project “Multimodal system for support of personalised therapy using metrorhythmic stimulation and walking with poles RAS 4 NoW” (grant no. POIR.01.01.01-00-0261/21).