Longer walks linked to lower risk of chronic low back pain

Investigators at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology report walking more than 100 minutes per day was associated with a 23% lower risk of chronic low back pain.

Low back pain affects people of all ages and accounts for 7.7% of all years lived with disability worldwide, ranking among the most costly chronic conditions in health care. In the US, back pain generates some of the highest health care spending.

Walking is the most affordable and accessible form of exercise for many. While guidelines recommend maintaining physical activity for the management of chronic low back pain, they offer no explicit targets for walking frequency or duration.

In the study, "Volume and Intensity of Walking and Risk of Chronic Low Back Pain," published in JAMA Network Open, researchers conducted a prospective cohort study to examine whether accelerometer-derived daily walking volume and walking intensity are associated with the risk of chronic LBP.

Participants included 11,194 adults aged 20 years or older without chronic low back pain at baseline, drawn from the Trøndelag Health Study between 2017 and 2019, with follow-up from 2021 to 2023.

Two tri-axial AX3 accelerometers worn for a week measured daily walking volume and walking intensity. Self-reported chronic low back pain at follow-up, defined as pain lasting three months or longer in the past 12 months, served as the primary outcome.

Those walking 101–124 minutes per day showed a risk ratio of 0.77 (95% CI, 0.68–0.87), and those walking 125 minutes or more showed a risk ratio of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.67–0.87). Higher walking intensity was also associated with reduced risk.

Findings suggest public health strategies promoting walking volume may confer more pronounced preventive benefits than walking intensity for reducing the burden of chronic low back pain.

This article was originally published on MedicalXpress Breaking News-and-Events.