A groundbreaking clinical trial conducted by Macquarie University’s Spinal Pain Research Group has discovered that regular walking can significantly reduce the recurrence of low back pain in adults. The study, published in the latest edition of The Lancet, followed 701 participants who had recently recovered from an episode of low back pain.
Participants were randomly assigned to either an individualized walking program with six physiotherapist-guided education sessions over six months or a control group. Researchers found that the intervention group experienced fewer occurrences of activity-limiting pain compared to the control group, with a median pain-free period of 208 days compared to 112 days.
“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,” says Professor Mark Hancock, the paper’s senior author and Macquarie University Professor of Physiotherapy. “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.”
Improved Quality of Life and Reduced Healthcare Costs
Lead author Dr. Natasha Pocovi emphasizes that in addition to providing participants with longer pain-free periods, the walking 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,” she says.
Previous exercise-based interventions to prevent back pain have typically been group-based, requiring close clinical supervision and expensive equipment, making them less accessible to the majority of patients. The walking program, on the other hand, has the potential to be successfully implemented on a much larger scale.
The research team now aims to explore how they can integrate this preventive approach into the routine care of patients who experience recurrent low back pain.
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The key points are:
- A clinical trial found that adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence if they walked regularly, compared to a control group.
- Walking is highlighted as an effective, low-cost, accessible form of exercise that can help manage and prevent low back pain episodes.
- The study provides evidence that a simple walking program, combined with education, can significantly reduce the risk of recurring low back pain and its associated disability and costs.
- The findings could have a major impact on how low back pain, a highly prevalent and disabling condition, is treated and managed through an affordable exercise intervention.
