Low back pain (LBP) is a very common and often debilitating condition affecting hundreds of millions of people globally. It is estimated that around 70 per cent of people who experience an episode of LBP will have a recurrence within 12 months, which adds to the disease and economic burden on individuals and society. While physiotherapists recommend exercise for those experiencing LBP, little research has been carried out to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an accessible and low-cost intervention such as walking for preventing LBP. 

A team of researchers from Australia and the Netherlands recently published the results of the WalkBack clinical trial, a randomised controlled trial investigating the benefits of regular walking on LBP recurrence. They found that the cost–effective and accessible progressive walking and education program resulted in a 28 per cent reduction in the risk of recurrences. 

The study was published in 2024 and the Physiotherapy Research Foundation (PRF) has funded an animation video to help spread the key messages contained in the trial about walking for LBP.
 

This animation is funded by the Physiotherapy Research Foundation (PRF)—supporting knowledge translation.
 

References:

Pocovi NC, Lin CC, French SD, Graham PL, van Dongen JM, Latimer J, Merom D, Tiedemann A, Maher CG, Clavisi O, Tong SYK, Hancock MJ (2024) Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an individualised, progressive walking and education intervention for the prevention of low back pain recurrence in Australia (WalkBack): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. Jul 13;404(10448):134-144. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00755-4. Epub 2024 Jun 19. 
 

Authors: 

• Natasha Pocovi APAM, Department of Health Sciences, Macquarie University
• Professor Chung-Wei Christine Lin, The Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Sydney School of Public Health Health, The University of Sydney
• Professor Simon French, Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University
• Petra Graham, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, and School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University
• Johanna van Dongen, Department of Health Sciences, Vrije University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Professor Jane Latimer, The Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Sydney School of Public Health Health, The University of Sydney
• Professor Dafna Merom, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University
• Professor Anne Tiedemann, The Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Sydney School of Public Health Health, The University of Sydney
• Professor Christopher Maher FACP, The Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Sydney School of Public Health Health, The University of Sydney
• Ornella Clavisi, Musculoskeletal Australia
• Shuk Yin Kate Tong, Department of Health Sciences, Macquarie University
• Professor Mark Hancock APAM, Department of Health Sciences, Macquarie University