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A study published this week in the medical journal The Lancet recommends regular walking as a cheap and easy way to prevent recurring back pain. The study showed that patients who took a 30-minute walk five times a week under the guidance of a physical therapist had fewer relapses than a control group. The researchers also said that patients also reported a perceived improvement in their quality of life and reduced the length of time they were unable to work by almost half. The authors expressed hope that these inexpensive and simple interventions could have a “significant impact” on diseases that are the leading cause of disability worldwide. "Walking is a cost-effective, accessible and easy exercise that can be done by almost anyone, regardless of geographical location, age or socioeconomic status," said Mark Hancock, professor of physiotherapy at Macquarie University and one of the study's authors. give Australia says: said. It is estimated that around 800 million people worldwide suffer from back pain. Seven out of ten people who recover after an episode relapse within a year.
This study looked at 700 adults who had recently recovered from a three-year episode of back pain. Half of the randomly selected subjects were assigned an individual walking program and the support of a physical therapist, while the rest had to take personal or medical measures as a control group. “The pain-restrictive intervention group had less activity and a longer median time to relapse than the control group, with a median time to relapse of 208 days compared to 112 days,” Hancock said. We don't know exactly why walking is so beneficial for preventing back pain, but it involves a combination of gentle vibratory movements, loading and strengthening spinal structures and muscles, relaxation and stress relief, and sensory relaxation. - Good endorphins, Hancock guessed.
He added that walking has other significant health benefits, including improving cardiovascular health, bone density, weight loss and mental health. The authors of the study found that with increasing life expectancy and increasing sedentary and leisure behavior, back pain is becoming a common health complaint internationally. They also said that disproportionately fewer resources were being allocated to research, prevention and care in the region amid increasing pressure on health systems worldwide.
