Want to Reduce Low-Back Pain? Take a Walk
When low-back pain strikes, you might feel like confining yourself to the couch or spending your days in bed. Yet new research suggests that moving more is a potent remedy.
In a randomized study published in The Lancet and funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia, researchers compared the effectiveness of an individualized, progressive walking treatment for low-back pain with that of a no-treatment protocol.
The 701 participants had a mean age of 54 and had all suffered from low-back pain. Women made up 81 percent of those studied: The researchers note that “low-back pain is more prevalent in females, and the prevalence increases with age.”
The findings show that a walking regimen “substantially reduced low-back pain recurrence compared with a no-treatment control group in adults who were not previously engaging in regular physical activity.”
Walking has long been hailed for its health benefits. Regular walking strengthens muscles that support the spine, promotes blood circulation, and reduces joint and muscle stiffness.
Blood circulation is key: It flushes away waste products from cells and delivers essential oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to all areas of the body. As blood flow increases, it accelerates the healing process.
The benefits of walking could be attributed to the “gentle movements, loading and strengthening of the spinal structures and muscles, the relaxation and stress relief exercise provides, and the release of feel-good endorphins,” explains the study’s corresponding author, Natasha Pocovi, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Health Sciences at Macquarie University in Sydney.
Yet many people avoid even this basic movement pattern, hanging on to the long-standing misconception that movement exacerbates low-back pain, says master trainer Danny King, director of performance and recovery at Life Time.
In reality, King says, for those who are injured or in a period of pain, “trying to keep up movement seems to speed up healing and decreases the likelihood of another low-back episode.”
“There is a widespread belief that protecting the back with rest is needed, leading to a belief that movement can cause harm,” says Pocovi. “We now understand this to simply not be true. Instead, keeping sensibly active within the limits of pain and trying to keep to your usual routine as best [as] possible will result in a quicker recovery and reduce the chances of a future episode. Based on our trial findings, walking seems a nice way to achieve this.”
King advises people to try walking for 30 minutes each day. “Use pain as your guide, but general recommendations are to get at least 7,500 steps per day.”
This article was origially written by Claire Carver for Experience Life.
