Chronic pain in the lower back is common and one of the most common reasons for people to reduce physical activity. Now, researchers at, among others, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim have investigated how walks affect aching backs.
The study included just over 11,000 people in Norway who on average were 55 years old. The participants were asked to answer questions about back pain and their walks were recorded with an accelerometer that they wore on their body. The meter was worn on average for six days.
According to the results, which are published in Jama Network Open, longer walking time per day could be linked to less occurrence of chronic pain in the lower back. Compared to walking less than 78 minutes a day, those who walked more than 100 minutes a day had a 23 percent lower risk of having chronic pain in the lower back.
The researchers also measured the intensity of the walks. They saw that the intensity was not as important as how long the walk lasted.
The participants were followed up after four years and the researchers adjusted for other activities such as running and cycling.
The researchers write that a weakness in the study is that they only measured walks for almost six days, but refer to the fact that other research has shown that it can be enough to show an average.
