Adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence of their back pain if they walked regularly, a world-first study has found.

About 800 million people worldwide suffer from low back pain. It is a leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life. Repeated episodes of low back pain are also very common, with seven in 10 people who recover from an episode going on to have a recurrence within a year.

Current best practice for back pain management and prevention suggests the combination of exercise and education. However, some forms of exercise are not accessible or affordable to many people due to their high cost, complexity, and need for supervision.

A clinical trial by researchers at Macquarie University in Australia has looked at whether walking could be an effective, cost-effective and accessible intervention. The trial followed 701 adults who had recently recovered from an episode of low back pain, randomly allocating participants to either an individualized walking program and six physiotherapist-guided education sessions over six months, or to a control group.

Researchers followed the participants for between one and three years, depending on when they joined, and the results have now been published in a recent edition of The Lancet. The paper’s senior author, Macquarie University Professor of Physiotherapy, Mark Hancock, says the findings could have a profound impact on how low back pain is managed.

Walking alone not doing it for you? Another proven approach to managing low back pain is hands-on care by highly trained doctors of chiropractic. It’s an efficient, tried-and-true opioid-free approach to low back pain.

Presented as a service to the community by: Union County Chiropractic Clinic, 110 Skyline Drive, Maynardville, TN (865) 992-7000 www.unioncountychiropractic.com