Walking and Chronic Low Back Pain
Regardless of pace, walking for longer periods helps people fight low back pain.
While a quicker pace supports longevity and reduces risks of heart disease, new evidence suggests that longer walking times, regardless of speed, may offer better protection against low back pain, highlighting the importance of providing individualized advice to meet each client’s specific needs.
For clients with chronic low back pain, consistent sustained walking—at any pace—can offer relief. A new study in JAMA Network Open (2025; doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.15592) reports that people who walked more than 100 minutes per day had a 23% lower risk of chronic low back pain than those walking 78 minutes or less.
“Intensity also plays a role in the risk of long-term back problems,” says lead study author, Rayane Haddadj, MS, PhD candidate at the department of Public Health and Nursing at NTNU: Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, “but not as much as the daily amount of walking.” Findings are based on objective data from 11,194 Norwegian adults. Unlike many studies that include self-reported physical activity, two sensors that participants wore on their thigh and back for up to a week recorded measurements for walking volume and intensity.
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
