Preventing Low Back Pain in 2016

Preventing Low Back Pain in 2016

This is a recent systematic review on preventing low back pain (LBP) that included over 6000 studies on the topic and here is what they concluded…

1) There is moderate-quality evidence that exercise combined with education reduces the risk of an episode of LBP.

2) There is evidence that exercise alone reduces the risk of an episode of LBP.

3) There is evidence that education alone has no effect on reducing the risk of an episode of LBP.

4) There is evidence that back belts and shoe insoles do NOT reduce the risk of LBP episodes.

Grand Finale conclusion: As of 2016, based on thousands of studies we can safely conclude that if you wish to prevent an episode of LBP, remain active and do some kind of daily exercise such as walking (park far away and certainly don’t stand on moving sidewalks!).

Reference: Steffens D et al Prevention of Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2016 Feb;176(2):199-208.