Reuters—June 30, 2017
Reuters reported that regular exercise may reduce the risk of chronic low back pain, according a review of previous studies by researchers at the British Journal of Sports Medicine. According to the review, researchers found that for moderately or highly active people, the risk of developing chronic low back pain was 14 and 16 percent, respectively, lower compared to people in the least active category.
Joel M. Press, MD, physiatrist-in-chief at HSS, agreed with the review’s findings and said people need to be more active. "We were meant to move. We were not meant to be stagnant in any way, so I think this study does confirm that."
Dr. Press, who was not involved in the current study, advised people with back pain to cut down sitting and increase movement with low-impact activities.
"Generally lower impact, walking type things are probably the starting point. Swimming is another low impact activity that puts less load on your back, but you're still getting a lot of cardiovascular fitness and movement with it," said Dr. Press.
Read the full article at reuters.com
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