Back pain is one of the most common complaints of patients, and now another potential way to relieve it has been found: researchers found that regular walking reduced back pain flare-ups and absence from work due to them. The study was published in the prestigious journal “The Lancet”.
About 800 million people worldwide suffer from lower back pain. Seven out of ten who recover report the recurrence of pain within six months. In the new study, 700 adults who had recently recovered from lower back pain that lasted up to three years were examined. Half of them who were randomly selected were assigned an adapted walking program and assistance from a physical therapist, while the rest were in a control group that continued with other treatments.
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The study showed that patients who went for half-hour walks five times a week and received physical therapy had fewer outbreaks than the control group. The subjects who made sure to walk, experienced an average of 208 days without a recurrence of the limiting pain, compared to a remission of 112 days in the group that did not perform regular walks. The researchers added that the patients also reported an improvement in the quality of life, and a lower rate of absences from work by half compared to the corresponding group.
“Walking is a cheap, accessible and simple exercise that almost anyone can engage in regardless of geographic location, age or socioeconomic status,” said Prof. Mark Hancock, the lead researcher from Macquarie University in Australia, “Lower back pain has become one of the most common complaints in the world due to the extension of life expectancy Life and more work and leisure habits that are carried out while sitting.”
According to Prof. Hancock, it is not clear why walking is good for preventing back pain, but he and his colleagues put forward several possibilities: “Walking may combine gentle rocking movements, loading and strengthening of spinal structures and muscles, relaxation and stress relief, and the release of pain-relieving endorphins. Walking has many other health benefits For cardiovascular health, bone density, weight loss and improved mental health”