Exercise may help prevent low back pain or make it less severe

[rooster59]

Exercise may help prevent low back pain or make it less severe

By Lisa Rapaport

 

(Reuters Health) - People who exercise may lower their odds of developing low back pain or may reduce the intensity of back pain they do experience, a research review suggests.

 

Compared to people who didn’t exercise, those who did were 33 percent less likely to develop low back pain, the analysis of data from 16 previously published studies found. Pairing exercise with patient education about back pain was associated with 27 percent lower odds of developing low back pain, the study also found.

 

“The study shows that exercises for strengthening and stretching the lumbar and abdominal muscles, or a combination of strengthening and aerobic exercises protect against low back pain,” said lead study author Dr. Rahman Shiri of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki.

 

“Furthermore, exercise reduces the severity of low back pain as well as disability due to low back pain,” Shiri said by email.

 

The researchers analyzed results from previous experiments that randomly assigned people with or without back pain to start different exercise routines. They also looked at some studies that compared exercise alone or exercise paired with education.

 

Altogether, the studies in the analysis had a total of 4,310 participants. Individual studies ranged in size from 30 to 901 participants and followed people for 2 to 24 months.

 

Many of the trials included stretching exercises, and some looked at strengthening, aerobic fitness, endurance, balance, coordination and motor skills.

 

Four studies were conducted in Japan, three in Denmark, two in Sweden and one each in Canada, Finland, Italy, New Zealand, Thailand, the UK and the United States.

 

Five studies only included people who didn’t have back pain to see if they developed it, while the rest included participants with and without back pain.

 

Exercise alone, compared to no physical activity, was associated with a 38 percent lower risk of disability due to low back pain, an analysis of five studies found. Adding patient education to exercise got similar results, one study concluded.

 

While exercise appeared to also lower the chances that participants would seek medical care or go on sick leave for low back pain, the difference was too small to rule out the possibility that it was due to chance.

 

One limitation of the review is that it focused on people in the general population, so it’s possible the impact of exercise might be different for individuals already suffering from low back pain, the authors note in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

 

Another drawback is that the analysis didn’t explore whether one type of exercise might be better than another for preventing low back pain, said Steven George, a researcher at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, who wasn’t involved in the study.

 

“This study also could not separate the physical and mental benefits of exercise,” George said by email. “My guess is that the individual gets the benefit of both with exercise.”

 

Any exercise people like may help as long as they do it often enough, said Bruno Saragiotto, a public health researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia who wasn’t involved in the review. Ideally, people should get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, he said by email.

 

“Fortunately, the type of exercise seems less important,” Saragiotto added.

 

Many other things people try for back pain - like braces, special mattresses and custom footwear - haven’t been found to help like exercise has, noted Julie Fritz, a researcher at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City who wasn’t involved in the review.

 

“This current study helps to reinforce and strengthen further our knowledge that exercise is about the only thing that consistently results in reduced risk of developing back pain,” Fritz said by email. “For patients who have had prior episodes of back pain, exercise helps reduce the risk of a new episode.”

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-11

[NancyL]

Interesting, but how is this related to Thailand?

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Well, I have a compression fracture of L-1 dating from 10 January 1981 that occasionally flares up, perhaps more exercise will help.

 

Mac

[tonray]

I have a weakened sacroiliac joint area from an injury when younger.....occasionally it flares up if I bend suddenly or lift with my back...ouch. Usually after the first 24 hours where ice helps reduce pain, heat and them movement...stretching and walking help immensely more than just lying on my back (which sometimes is too painful to do due to the pressure it puts on the nerves.)

 

Exercise after initial inflammation is arrested definitely helps.

[al007]

See my self indulgent chair on another thread, post 61, will not cure but may relieve some of the pain

 

 

[KarenBravo]

It's funny, all the people I know that have chronic back pain are all exercise junkies.

Being a couch potato, no twinges anywhere.

[KarenBravo]

@alex8912

Confused?

One drawback of exercise is injuries.

Couch potato may of course experience mild strains.....................when stretching for the remote.

Edited November 11, 2017 by KarenBravo

[KarenBravo]

Still confused alex8912?

Sorry, can't explain any better than I already have.

[alex8912]

2 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

@alex8912

Confused?

One drawback of exercise is injuries.

Couch potato may of course experience mild strains.....................when stretching for the remote.

Don't forget the mild strain of heart attack. Fatties unite!

[KarenBravo]

As I ride a small motorbike on Thailand's roads, I can pretty much predict my end...............and it won't be from a heart attack.

[balo]

Walking daily is very important. You dont have to do hard exercise. Stretch out and walk at least 5 km. I had my share of back pain so I know sitting for hours is the worst thing you can do. 

[Sheryl]

It is important top remember that back pain can have many different causes. Many of these will respond well to exercise and/or stretches but some will not and even be aggravated by it.

 

A good rule of thumb is to stop any type of exercise or stretch that brings on severe pain, at once, and if they all do that see a doctor at once. Likewise if there is any loss of sensation in the legs. Another warning sign is if you lie flat and lift a leg it is excrutiatingly painful. These things indicate compression on the spinal cord or major nerve root and  in that case you should not do any sort of exercise unless approved by a orthopedic doctor specializing in spinal problems.

 

But  otherwise, simple stretches and exercises are worth trying.  While you should not do anything that causes sharp pain, exercises that create the kind of discomfort one gets when stretching a tight muscle may be beneficial.

 

A few months back I was having lower back pain, on either side of my spine, at night bad enough to interfere with sleep. I consulted a good shiatsu practitioner and also very good Western physio. After examination both concluded the problem was not in the back at all but rather in muscles around the hip and a combination of tailored exercises/stretches and shiatsu completely resolved it. I now do those stretches daily to prevent recurrence.

[hansnl]

3 hours ago, alex8912 said:

Don't forget the mild strain of heart attack. Fatties unite!

 

 

 

Heart attacks don't happen to fatties only.

Couch dwellers aren't necessarily fatties.

 

[Skeptic7]

12 hours ago, NancyL said:

Interesting, but how is this related to Thailand?

Articles on health and well-being aren't country specific. People in Thailand have back pain too...foreigners, as well as Thais. 

[SunsetT]

When my back is bad the best exercise is sex! But it must be on top missionary position or doggy fashion standing up......Really! When recovered its straight back to the Karma Sutra to  ****  it up again..........!

[NancyL]

10 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Articles on health and well-being aren't country specific. People in Thailand have back pain too...foreigners, as well as Thais. 

In the past, when people started a post with an interesting health-related articles of general interest (but no mention of Thailand) on the health forum, the posts were closed.  That's why I found it odd that a moderator started such a post.   

[lopburi3]

19 minutes ago, NancyL said:

In the past, when people started a post with an interesting health-related articles of general interest (but no mention of Thailand) on the health forum, the posts were closed.  That's why I found it odd that a moderator started such a post.   

I also question the legitimacy of this specific post actually being medical knowledge - my reading is nothing new and just a summarization of questionable studies - I almost questioned it being in news and worthy of reporting by this source.  Most readers click on it as a magic pill expecting to be provided a healthy exercise, or routine, only to find fluff.  I do give the reporter credit for at least providing a balanced report.  Starting to understand why some believe Trump over news sources lately - and really do not want that.

[Tradewind777]

10 hours ago, SunsetT said:

When my back is bad the best exercise is sex! But it must be on top missionary position or doggy fashion standing up......Really! When recovered its straight back to the Karma Sutra to  ****  it up again..........!

You sure are getting your cum-uppance mate. Then again I don’t know your gender so all this information could be a bit skew-if lol!

[Tradewind777]

The best exercise I have found is lie on the floor bendthighs up to vertical and swing from side to side building eventually up to 50 times per routine. Fixes a high percentage of all lower back pain.

[Sheryl]

4 hours ago, NancyL said:

In the past, when people started a post with an interesting health-related articles of general interest (but no mention of Thailand) on the health forum, the posts were closed.  That's why I found it odd that a moderator started such a post.   

It was posted by the News team.