Walking three times a week almost halves the recurrence of lower back pain
Walking three times a week to relieve back pain almost halves the risk of recurrence, according to the first study of its kind.
About 800 million people worldwide have low back pain, and seven in ten people who recover from it experience flare-ups within a year.
Researchers said the findings published in the Lancetshowwalking can have a “profound impact” on the leading cause of disability worldwide.
“You don’t have to walk 5 or 10km every day to reap these benefits,” says Mark Hancock, senior author of the study and professor of physiotherapy at Macquarie University in Australia.
“The most important thing to remember is to start with short walks and then gradually increase the distance and intensity as your fitness level increases. Walking is an inexpensive, widely accessible and simple exercise that almost anyone can do, regardless of geographic location, age or socio-economic status.”
Hancock said people who walked three to five times a week, an average of 130 minutes a week, stayed pain-free for almost twice as long compared to those who did not receive any treatment.
Taking regular steps also improved their quality of life, and the time they needed to take off from work almost halved, he added.
In the world’s first randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of walking to prevent recurrence of low back pain, scientists followed 701 adults for three years who had recently had an episode of low back pain.
Half were assigned a walking schedule and educational sessions from a physiotherapist, while the rest were assigned to a control group and received no specific intervention.
“The intervention group had less activity-limiting pain compared to the control group, and a longer mean time before recurrence, with a median of 208 days compared to 112 days,” said Hancock. “The risk of a recurrence requiring care was almost halved among those in the intervention group.
“We gave them a rough guide to building up to 30 minutes, five times a week, over a six-month period. After three months, most participants walked an average of 130 minutes three to five days a week.”
He added: “We don’t know exactly why walking is so good for preventing back pain, but it probably involves the combination of gentle oscillatory movements, loading and strengthening the spinal structures and muscles, relaxation and stress relief, and relaxation. of ‘feel-good’ endorphins.
“And of course we also know that walking has many other health benefits, including cardiovascular health, bone density, healthy weight and improved mental health.”
Rory Fagan joined the lawsuit in 2021, seeking relief from a back injury he suffered playing rugby in his 20s. In the three years since he started running three times a week, he has had only one episode of debilitating pain.
“The problem with back pain is that most people have the instinct to do nothing because even taking a step can cause a jerk or spasm in the back,” he said. “Exercise is one way to reduce pain in the long term, so if you have a flare-up, keep doing what you can.”
Prof. Kamila Hawthorne, president of the Royal College of GPs in Britain, welcomed the research and said it was “important” that the results were “taken into account when developing and updating clinical guidelines”.
Dr. Athalie Redwood-Brown, senior lecturer in physical activity and health at Nottingham Trent University, said the findings “have the potential to transform preventive care and provide a scalable solution that could benefit millions of people”.