Sign up CNN fitness, but better Newsletter series. Our seven-part guide will help you facilitate a healthy routine that is supported by experts.
Taking your first step is good for your health, but it may also help you avoid being affected by the disability later, new research has found.
A study published Friday in the JAMA Network Open Journal found that walking 100 minutes a day was associated with a 23% reduction in the risk of chronic low back pain.
“This is an important discovery because walking is a simple, low-cost, accessible activity that can be widely promoted to reduce the burden of lower back pain,” said Rayane Haddadj, a doctoral candidate for the Faculty of Public Health at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Dr. Natasha Pokobi, a postdoctoral researcher in health sciences at Macquarie University in Sydney, says that an estimated 600 million people around the world are thought to be the main causes of back pain. She was not involved in the research.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of people with chronic back pain is expected to grow to 843 million by 2050.
Still, preventing back pain is often overlooked in research and clinical practice, Pokobi added.
The results of this latest study show that physical activity may be used as a preventive measure. Pocovi said the study “suggests that there is no need to complicate exercise routines to protect yourself from chronic low back pain.”
To investigate the relationship between walking and back pain prevention, the research team analyzed data from over 11,000 participants over 20 years of age of tron de lag studying in Norway, or hunting.
Between 2017 and 2019, Hunt researchers asked study participants to wear an accelerometer for seven days to track their walking patterns. The hunt team then followed up from 2021 and 2023, asking if participants had experienced back pain, according to a new study.
The people were divided into four groups. People who walked less than 78 minutes a day, 78-100 minutes, 101-124 minutes or more.
Findings showed that increasing daily walking reduces the risk of chronic low back pain and that moderate or active walking is more protective than slow pace, Pokobi said.
Instead of reporting unique levels of physical activity, she added, there are reasons to be confident in the findings, including the large sample size and the use of accelerometers.
However, walking data was only captured over a week, which may not reflect people’s patterns over a month or year, Pocovi said.
This study is also observational. This means that it can be linked, but researchers cannot say with certainty that walking has reduced the risk of lower back pain.
Not only is lower back pain the main cause of the disorder, it is also expensive. A study from April 2024 found that on average, people spend more than $30,000 on back pain-related costs in the five years after their initial diagnosis.
Easy and inexpensive changes to prevent chronic back pain can make a huge difference, Haddadj said.
The study failed to address whether walking a 100-minute straight had the same, less or the same effect as accumulating the same time in short bursts, Pokobi said.
However, in most cases, Pokobi said the amount of walking is better than anyone, unless there is a fundamental condition.
“Start with a short walking session, either by planning a particular walk or finding a small way to integrate short walks into your daily life,” she said.
Pokobi said she likes to go up the stairs instead of the elevator or walk to the coffee shop a little further from her home.
“The key is to gradually increase walking in a sustainable and enjoyable way,” she said in an email. “And more, friends, partners, or colleagues can take part in the walk and be motivated and accountable.”
In addition to dinner and drinks, you can add walking as a way to spend time with friends.
And if you want to move into the past to get some extra steps and get more physical activity, you can still start small and build your path, Santas said. Some training can even be completed from the comfort of the couch while watching episodes of your favorite TV show, she added.