Recreational Physical Activity Better Than Targeted Exercising For Alleviating Low Back Pain

Main Category: Back Pain
Article Date: 10 Oct 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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A study of hundreds of people suffering from low back pain found that general physical activity was better than specific back exercises for alleviating their pain.

In fact, according to the study, back exercises often made a patient's back pain worse. Researchers studied about 700 low back pain patients for 18 months and found those who participated in recreational physical activity had the best pain relief results. By contrast, those patients who performed specific back exercises were most likely to continue to suffer from back pain and disability.

"These results suggest that individuals with low back pain should refrain from specific back exercises and instead focus on nonspecific physical activities to reduce pain and improve psychological health," the study's authors wrote.

(From: "Effects of Recreational Physical Activity and Back Exercises on Low Back Pain and Psychological Distress: Findings from the UCLA Low Back Pain Study." Eric L. Hurwitz, DC, PhD, University of California School of Public Health, Los Angeles)

The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly journal of the American Public Health Association, the oldest organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is a leading publisher of public health-related books and periodicals promoting high scientific standards, action programs and policy for good health. More information is available at http://www.apha.org.

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