Are you struggling with lower back pain? You’re not alone. About 800 million people around the world experience low back pain, and it is a leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life. While over-the-counter medications and ointments may provide some relief, it does not solve the problem in the long term. A recent study has shown that a simple exercise can fix it A clinical trial led by researchers at Macquarie University’s Spinal Pain Research Group found that a simple exercise, when done regularly, can fix lower back pain. The findings are published in The Lancet.Exercise and back pain
Low back pain affects millions of people globally. Repeated episodes of low back pain are also very common, with seven in 10 people who recover from an episode going on to have a recurrence within a year. The current best practice recommended to manage and prevent back pain is a combination of exercise and education. However, many cannot exercise due to accessibility or affordability, due to their high cost, complexity, and need for supervision.The researchers have found that a simple exercise, which is accessible and does not cost a penny, could solve this. The exercise in question is simple walking. They found that adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence of their back pain if they walked regularly.The study
In the clinical trial, the researchers looked at whether walking could be an effective, cost-effective, and accessible intervention. To study this, the researchers followed 701 adults who had recently recovered from an episode of low back pain. The participants of the trial were then randomly given either an individualised walking program and six physiotherapist-guided education sessions over six months, or assigned to a control group.The researchers followed these participants between one and three years, depending on when they joined.They found that walking has a profound effect on how low back pain is managed. “The intervention group had fewer occurrences of activity-limiting pain compared to the control group, and a longer average period before they had a recurrence, with a median of 208 days compared to 112 days,” Mark Hancock, senior author and Professor of Physiotherapy at Macquarie University, said. Can walking help?
The study found that walking could be instrumental in managing and even preventing low back pain. “Walking is a low-cost, widely accessible and simple exercise that almost anyone can engage in, regardless of geographic location, age or socio-economic status. We don’t know exactly why walking is so good for preventing back pain, but it is likely to include the combination of the gentle oscillatory movements, loading and strengthening the spinal structures and muscles, relaxation and stress relief, and release of ‘feel-good’ endorphins. And of course, we also know that walking comes with many other health benefits, including cardiovascular health, bone density, healthy weight, and improved mental health,” Hancock said.
Lead author of the study, Dr Natasha Pocovi, also added that the program was very cost-effective. “It not only improved people’s quality of life, but it reduced their need both to seek healthcare support and the amount of time taken off work by approximately half. The exercise-based interventions to prevent back pain that have been explored previously are typically group-based and need close clinical supervision and expensive equipment, so they are much less accessible to the majority of patients. Our study has shown that this effective and accessible means of exercise has the potential to be successfully implemented at a much larger scale than other forms of exercise,” she said.
The researchers are now planning to explore how they can integrate the preventive approach into the routine care of patients who experience recurrent low back pain.
