Easy, accessible, affordable and effective at improving fitness and health, walking checks all the boxes. But that’s not all walking can do. A team of Norwegian researchers revealed another advantage of walking that can benefit a percentage of the population that often struggles with being active.

“Low back pain affects people of all ages and is the leading cause of functional health loss, estimated to account for 7.7 per cent of all years lived with disability,” the researchers said.

Physical activity is often prescribed as a way to manage low back pain, but it’s easier said than done. Chronic back pain can take the joy out of any activity. And despite the suggestion that walking is a good option, the specifics about how much and how far to walk are fuzzy.

“The association between walking and the risk of chronic low back pain remains largely unexplored,” the researchers said.

Using accelerometers to record the walking distance and volume of 11,194 Norwegians with low back pain, the researchers noted a lower incidence of discomfort as the minutes added up. The group, 58.6 per cent of which were women, experienced a 23-per-cent reduced........

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