Higher Daily Walking Volume, Intensity Tied to Lower Risks for Low Back Pain

TUESDAY, June 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Daily walking volume and walking intensity are inversely associated with the risk for chronic low back pain (LBP), according to a study published online June 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Rayane Haddadj, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, and colleagues examined whether daily walking volume and walking intensity are associated with the risk for chronic LBP. The analysis included 11,194 participants aged 20 years and older.

The researchers found that during a median follow-up of 4.2 years, continuous measures of both walking volume and walking intensity were inversely associated with the risk for chronic LBP. A reduced risk for LBP was seen with walking 78 to 100 minutes per day (risk ratio [RR], 0.87), walking 101 to 124 minutes per day (RR, 0.77), and walking ≥125 minutes (RR, 0.76) compared with participants walking <78 minutes per day. Similarly, a lower risk was seen for participants with walking intensity of 3.00 to 3.11 metabolic equivalents of task (METs) per minute (RR, 0.85), walking intensity of 3.12 to 3.26 METs per minute (RR, 0.82), and walking intensity ≥3.27 METs per minute (RR, 0.82) compared with a mean walking intensity <3.00 METs per minute. The association persisted for walking volume but was attenuated for walking intensity after mutual adjustment.

“These findings indicate that policies and public health strategies promoting walking may help to reduce the burden of chronic low back pain,” the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text