Dear Doctors: I threw out my lower back two years ago while I was helping my cousin move. My back would feel better for a while, but then the pain would always come back. I noticed that since I started a walking program, that cycle stopped. Do you know why that would be?
Dear Reader: You have discovered one of the many -- so many! -- health benefits of walking. As primary care physicians, a large part of our jobs is helping the people we work with to achieve and maintain good health. That makes walking a topic that is near and dear to our hearts.
It is easy to consider walking primarily as a means of locomotion. But it does so much more than get us from point A to point B. The process of walking places physical demands on the body that help us not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally.
Walking is dynamic, rhythmic and can easily become aerobic. Whether a gentle stroll or a speedy workout, it engages muscle groups throughout the body. You’re practicing balance when you walk and maintaining flexibility. Your lungs and heart are more active, and with every step, you are giving a boost to the movement of lymphatic fluid. Walking helps maintain a healthy weight, improves blood pressure, aids in blood sugar control and bolsters the immune system. As an added bonus, regular walking has been shown to be effective at improving sleep, memory and cognition, and also lifting mood and lowering the risk of depression.
Due in part to our upright posture, lower back pain is common. Data show that up to 85% of us will deal with some form of back pain in our lifetimes. As anyone who has experienced it knows, lower back pain can flare unexpectedly, often in response to movement. This can make people leery of doing any kind of exercise, even when recommended by their doctors. The good news is that the vast majority of lower back pain -- the estimate is 90% -- is temporary. The not-so-good news is that having had a lower back injury, such as a sprain or strain or a slipped disc, puts you at risk of a recurrence. And that’s where the walking you are doing enters the picture.
A contributing factor to low back pain is poor muscular support. This includes not just in the back, but also the muscles of the core. As you walk, you are exercising muscles that help stabilize, and thus protect, the spine. A recent study looked at 700 adults with chronic lower back pain. Half were asked to walk 30 minutes per day, five days a week. They also learned about the mechanics of back pain and strategies for recovery. At the end of three years, it turned out that the people in the walking group went twice as long without a recurrence of low back pain as those who did not walk.
We hope that, even with your back pain gone, you will continue your walking program. Your back -- and the rest of your body -- will thank you.
(Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10960 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1955, Los Angeles, CA, 90024. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.)
