Medicine A half-hour walk prevents low back pain
A half-hour walk per day protects against low back pain. People who walk enough suffer fewer relapses of low back pain, according to an Australian study published in the journal "The Lancet".
20.06.2024, 00:30
SDA
For the analysis, the team led by Natasha Pocovi from Macquarie University in Sydney followed 701 non-athletic adults who had recently experienced non-specific lower back pain but now felt better.
Half of them were prescribed a walking program, while the control group was given no exercise. The guideline for the exercise program was to walk for at least 30 minutes five days a week. Physiotherapists guided the participants and tailored the walking program individually.
On average, those who exercised according to such a plan had such severe low back pain again after 208 days that their everyday life had to be restricted. Those in the control group experienced this after just 112 days. The participants in the running program therefore lived on average almost twice as long without such pain, as co-author Mark Hancock explained. They also experienced less pain overall.
Walking is cheap and easy
"We don't know exactly why walking is so good for preventing back pain," says Hancock, "but it's probably a combination of the gentle oscillating movements, the strain and strengthening of the spinal structures and muscles, the relaxation and stress relief and the release of feel-good endorphins."
Doctors have long recommended that people with back pain exercise regularly and take part in sport. But not everyone has the money, time or access to exercise programs, first author Natasha Pocovi points out. "Walking is an inexpensive, easily accessible and simple exercise."
The researchers hope that their findings can help as many people as possible around the world. After all, there are more than 600 million people worldwide with low back pain.
