Greater strides in reducing back discomfort through increased ambulation.

Greater strides in reducing back discomfort through increased ambulation.

Strut Your Stuff for a Healthier Back 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️

Walking daily could be the key to a lower risk of suffering from persistent lower back pain, according to a substantial Norwegian long-term study published in the prestigious "JAMA Network Open" journal. The research found that individuals who clocked over 100 minutes on foot each day faced a 23% lower risk of chronic back pain compared to those who walked less than 78 minutes daily.

Tracking Movements with Tech

The research team from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology leveraged data from the HUNT study, an extensive health survey with thousands of participants. Over 11,000 adults, who didn't previously experience chronic back pain, were part of the study and wore movement sensors on their thigh and lower back for several days. This enabled the team to objectively gauge the walking habits of participants. The HUNT health survey was repeated between 2021 and 2023, facilitating comparisons.

The conclusions? The risk of developing chronic back pain, defined as discomfort lasting for at least three months, decreased in tandem with increased walking time. Approximately 15% or 1,600 participants reported ongoing back pain in the four years after the initial survey.

The Quantity Trumps Speed Debate

In addition to the amount, the intensity of walking was also connected with a lower risk; however, the relationship was less pronounced. The scientists propose that walking's quantity dominates its intensity when it comes to back health.

Bernd Kladny, the deputy general secretary of the German Society for Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, whose input was not sought during the study, favors measuring activity using step counters and other wearable devices. Kladny suggests that while walking speed is unimportant for back pain, it does significantly impact cardiovascular health.

The study has its limitations, as the Norwegian research team acknowledges. Participants' walking activities were only recorded at one point in time and might have changed over time. Moreover, being an observational study, causality cannot be definitively established. There's a possibility that health-conscious individuals who walked more may have devoted more attention to their overall health, including their back health.

Other unmeasured factors, such as different types of physical activities or changes in health throughout the study period, might have influenced the results.

Back Pain - A Persistent Issue in Germany

Nonetheless, the findings provide valuable insights for preventing back pain, says the research team. Since walking is an affordable, easy-to-access form of exercise, health promotion programs could prioritize walking, the authors recommend.

Back pain has long been a major health issue in Germany, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). In a 2021 RKI survey, about 61% of respondents reported back pain within the past year. Lower back pain was roughly double as common as upper back pain. Nearly 15.5% of respondents reported enduring chronic back pain.

[1] Rayane Haddadj, et al.Walking and Lower Back Pain: A Prospective Observational Study of Physical Activity in NOR-HUNT. JAMA Network Open, 2023.[2] Roisin McCallion, et al.Physical activity and chronic lower back pain in midlife and older adults: findings from the investigation of lifestyle determinants and lunchbreak activity (GoDAB) study, Arthritis Care & Research, 2017.[3] Sofia Villas-Boas, et al.The Role of Physical Activity in the Prevention of Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Individuals: A Systematic Review, Sage Journals, 2020.[4] Chamal ER, Chamal ER.Walking and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, American Journal of Public Health, 2021.

1. Engaging in a regular exercise regime, such as walking, may help manage chronic medical conditions like chronic back pain, as suggested by a long-term Norwegian study published in the "JAMA Network Open" journal.
2. In the field of health and wellness, research has shown that not only the intensity of fitness and exercise, like walking, plays a role in mitigating the risk of chronic diseases but also the quantity of physical activity is crucial for maintaining back health.
3. The German Society for Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery emphasizes the importance of tracking physical activities such as walking using modern technologies like step counters and wearable devices, as these devices can provide accurate data for health and fitness assessments, while the intensity of walking may have less direct impact on back health compared to the amount.

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