NEW YORK, Jul 30 (Reuters Health) -- If you suffer from low back pain, you have probably been told that you need to be up and moving. You have probably also worried that exercise might worsen your condition.
But according to a report published in the July 31st issue of the British Medical Journal, patients with low back pain who participate in just a few weeks of exercise classes may reap benefits that include less distressing pain and a greater level of normal activity, even one year later.
Dr. Jennifer Klaber Moffett and colleagues from the University of York and the University of London, both in the UK, studied 187 adult men and women who had complained of low back pain for 1 to 6 months. Each patient was assigned either to a "control" group that received no treatment other than that provided by their general practitioner, or to a progressive exercise program that included stretching and strengthening exercises, relaxation, and education about back care. These patients attended eight 1-hour classes over a 4-week period.
After 6 weeks, the exercise group reported less distressing pain and less disability than the other group. At 6 months, the differences between the two groups were even greater, and at 1 year, greater still. By the end of 1 year, 64% of the exercise group had improved at least 3 points on the 24-point disability questionnaire, compared with 35% of the non-exercise group.
In addition, during the 1-year follow-up period, patients who took the exercise classes tended to make less use of healthcare resources than those in the control group, and missed significantly less work -- 378 days compared to the other group's 607.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Moffett emphasized that "people need to overcome their fear of damaging their backs through movement and physical activity. The back does not like static postures but it does like movement."
Moffett added, "We need to start exercise at a low level and gradually build up the amount we do. It's not about a cure -- it's about learning to cope and getting on with life in spite of back pain. When people focus less on the pain, they usually do better."
SOURCE: British Medical Journal 1999;319:279-283.
