A study published in the journal The Lancet demonstrates the benefits of walking against lower back pain (the lumbar region, located in the lower back, corresponds to the area of the five lumbar vertebrae and the surrounding muscle masses).
In 2050, up to 843 million people could be affected
In 2020, it was estimated that lower back pain affected 619 million people worldwide. By 2050, this number could reach up to 843 million.
Nearly seven in ten people experience a relapse of pain during the 12 months following their remission from an episode of lower back pain. These relapses also impact society and the economy, since patient absenteeism is longer and generates higher medical costs.
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Walking, an activity accessible to all
Dr Natasha Pocovi and Prof Mark Hancock, of the University Macquarie in Sydney, (Australia), recall in The Lancet that exercising is recommended in order to prevent any relapse. In their study, they focused on walking because it is a physical activity accessible to everyone.
Walking is an activity that is good for your health and accessible to everyone. Credits: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock/SIPA
Seven hundred one Australian adults (565 women and 136 men) who had recently recovered from nonspecific lower back pain of at least 24 hours participated in this study. The participants had an average age of 54 years and were followed between 12 and 36 months.
208 days versus 112 days
They were divided into two cohorts. The first benefited from an individualized and progressive walking and education intervention, facilitated by six physiotherapy sessions over six months. The role of physiotherapists was to provide patients with psychological support and personalized support to optimize the experience. The second cohort served as a control group and did not receive treatment.
The results of this study reveal that the time to relapse of lower back pain was longer in the intervention group, reaching 208 days, compared to the control group, with a time of 112 days.
In addition, the authors point out that the patients in the intervention group had suffered a greater number of lower back-related pain before the study than the control group (100 in the intervention group versus 54 in the control group). . Which further accentuates the beneficial effect of walking on these patients!
Lower back pain more prevalent in women
The study does not specify a difference between men and women, although women are the majority among the participants. This is also what Dr Natasha Pocovi wanted to explain to Science and Future : “We did not look more closely at gender differences in this study but we may do so in the future. We recruited significantly more women, who represent almost 80% of our study participants. We notice that, in general, lower back pain is more common in women.
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“We don’t know exactly why walking is so beneficial for preventing back pain.”
The main author of this study explains that “Not only did walking improve people’s lives, it also reduced their need for sick leave and medical support by about half.“
“We don’t know exactly why walking is so beneficial for preventing back pain, add Mark Hancock. However, it is likely that this is due to the combination of gentle oscillatory movements, loading and strengthening of spinal structures and muscles, relaxation and reduction of stress, as well as the release of endorphins’ which make you feel good.”
So how much walking should you do to limit relapses of lower back pain? “In the study, the amount of walking each person performed was individualized based on a range of factors, such as participants’ age, physical ability, preferences and available time, explains the main author of the study. We gave them a rough guide to gradually increase this time to 30 minutes, five times a week. After three months, most participants were walking three to five days per week for an average of 130 minutes per week.”
You will have understood, the only advice to remember to avoid back pain is to walk!
