WALK YOUR BACK PAIN AWAY – Consumers Association Penang

Over 600 million people worldwide suffer from lower back pain, often enduring it in cycles. Nearly 70% of those who recover will face another episode within a year. Now, new research suggests that regular walking can prevent pain from returning. In the study, participants who walked 5 times a week were 28% less likely to have a recurrence of their lower back pain.

Here’s why walking is effective for back pain. The movement stimulates blood flow to the spine, which helps with healing by increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients that get carried there. With walking, “the spine is in a position where it is being challenged in a gentle way,” says a physical therapist. This gentle challenge applies just the right amount of force or load to the spine and has a number of benefits to the muscles and joints of the lower back.

“If you look at walking, there is a really nice, repetitive, but fairly low load going through the spine, and we know that is really great for tissues,” says an Australian researcher. “All tissues in our body respond to loading. They get stronger and healthier with loading.” For the lower back, this includes the muscles that surround and support the spine, as well as the vertebrae and cartilage discs that make up the spine.

The gentle impact of walking promotes blood flow to these tissues, while also strengthening the cartilage and bone of the spine. Studies have shown that regular runners have stronger, healthier cartilage discs than non-runners, and walking is thought to have a similar effect.

– excerpts from National Geographic (16 September 2024)