Lack of activity increases risk of lower back pain – new findings

People with low levels of physical activity could be putting themselves at risk of back pain, according to a new study in Arthritis Research & Therapy.
Although we know that physical inactivity is associated with many chronic musculoskeletal complaints, little research has looked at its associations with spinal structures. And research on the link between physical activity and low back pain has had conflicting results.
So experts decided to look at the associations between physical inactivity and intervertebral disc height, paraspinal fat content and lower back pain and disability.
A total of 72 people had MRI scans of their spines and answered questions about their levels of physical activity. Age, gender and body mass index were taken into account.

Key findings
Results showed that lower physical activity levels were associated with:
• A more narrow average intervertebral disc height;
• Increased risk of high fat content in the multifidus (which is a small but important muscle in the spine);
• Greater risk of high-intensity pain and disability.
“Physical inactivity is associated with narrower intervertebral discs, high fat content of the multifidus and high-intensity low back pain and disability in a dose-dependent manner among community-based adults,” the research group says. “Longitudinal studies will help to determine the cause and effect nature of these associations.”

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Image credit: Stefan Powell