Health experts have revealed one of the best ways to relieve back pain… and it’s completely free.
Around 800 million people worldwide suffer from back pain, and seven in 10 people who recover from the condition will experience a recurrence within a year.
Currently, managing and preventing back pain requires a combination of exercise, therapy, and sometimes surgery.
But the researchers note that some exercises are easy and inexpensive to do, and often require supervision.
But now scientists say the technique could be a cheap, easy way to prevent back pain from returning, after trials showed that patients who followed it experienced fewer recurrences.
Experts found that people who walked an average of 30 minutes a day, five times a week, and were supervised by a physiotherapist were nearly twice as likely to remain pain-free for long as those who received no treatment.
The researchers said regular treatment also improved patients’ quality of life and cut the time they had to take off work in almost half.
Researchers said the findings, published in The Lancet, showed walking could have a “profound impact” on the condition, which affects eight in 10 people in the UK and is a leading cause of disability worldwide.
Walking is a low-cost, widely available, simple form of exercise that can be enjoyed by almost anyone, regardless of geographic location, age, or socioeconomic status.Professor Mark Hancock, Macquarie University
“Walking is a low-cost, widely available and easy exercise that almost anyone can do, regardless of geographic location, age or socio-economic status,” said Mark Hancock, professor of physiotherapy at Macquarie University in Australia.
Scientists followed more than 700 adults who had recently recovered from back pain for up to three years.
Half of the participants were randomly assigned to a customized walking program and education sessions led by a physiotherapist, while the other half were assigned to a control group that received no specific intervention but received treatment if their symptoms recurred.
Prof Hancock said: “The intervention group experienced less activity-limiting pain than the control group and the mean time until recurrence was longer, a median of 208 days compared with 112 days in the control group.”
He adds: “It’s not clear exactly why walking is good for preventing back pain, but it’s likely a combination of gentle vibration exercise, loading and strengthening spinal structures and muscles, relaxation and stress relief, and the release of ‘feel good’ endorphins.”
“And of course, walking is known to have many other health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, bone density, healthy weight and mental health.”
“Walking not only improves people’s quality of life, but also reduces both the need to seek medical support and time off work by around half,” said researcher Dr Natasha Pokovi from Macquarie University.
“Our study shows that this effective and affordable form of exercise could potentially be implemented on a much larger scale than other forms of exercise.”
Our study demonstrated that this effective and accessible means of exercise could be implemented on a much larger scale than other forms of exercise.Dr Natasha Pokovi, Macquarie University
Commenting on the study, Professor Camilla Hawthorne, President of the British Association of General Practitioners, said: “Low back pain affects millions of people and can have a serious impact on their quality of life, sometimes making it difficult to carry out everyday tasks without feeling pain.
“We therefore always welcome research into a potentially very debilitating condition and it is important that this research is taken into account when clinical guidelines are developed and updated.”
“This study supports what we already know: even small amounts of walking can help with back pain.”
“We also know there are other benefits, such as people’s mental health and wellbeing, which is often affected for people living with pain.”
“General practitioners therefore advise their patients with back pain to undertake moderate exercise as appropriate and in line with clinical guidelines, however we recognise that for some patients this may be impossible or very difficult.”
Dr Atalie Redwood-Brown, senior lecturer in physical activity and health at Nottingham Trent University’s School of Sport Sciences, said: “Walking can help reduce mechanical back pain by improving muscle strength, flexibility and circulation, which are all so important for spinal health.”
“This discovery has the potential to transform preventive healthcare and provide a scalable solution that could benefit millions of people.”