Walking tied to less back pain
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- Reviewed by Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
Here’s a way to help ward off chronic low back pain: try adding more minutes of walking to your day, suggests a study published online June 13, 2025, by JAMA Network Open. Researchers evaluated health information from more than 11,000 people (average age 55) in Norway who wore activity trackers for about a week, and then were followed for an average of four years. None of the participants had low back pain at the start of the study. Compared with people who walked less than 78 minutes a day, those who walked more than 100 minutes a day had a 23% lower risk of developing chronic low back pain. Walking more than 125 minutes per day didn’t reduce the risk much further, nor did walking at a fast pace. The study was observational and can’t prove conclusively that walking prevented chronic low back pain. However, it’s plausible, since walking is good for your overall health, especially if you can rack up 100 minutes of daily walking.
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About the Author
Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
About the Reviewer
Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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