Walking may benefit low back pain
Chronic pain is a symptom of CKD, for reasons that are not well understood. So CKD patients experience significant amounts of pain, including back pain. In a recent Australian study by Pocovi, 2024 the effects of walking on patients with back pain were examined in a randomised trial.
Why is this important?
About 800 million people worldwide have low back pain, and it is a leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life. It is the major cause of time off work.
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.
What did the study show?
701 patients who had had a significant episode of back pain were randomly assigned: 351 to the intervention (walking) group and 350 to the ‘no treatment’ control group – for a year.
The walking group had a graded walking protocol. The no treatment group received education and 6 sessions of physiotherapy.
Most participants were female (81%) and the mean age of participants was 54 years.
The median days to a recurrence was 208 days in the intervention group, and 112 days in the control group.
How does this affect you?
The authors found that adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence of their back pain if they walked regularly.
So, for CKD patients with back pain, regular walking may be more effective than physiotherapy.
