Walking and Water Therapy for Low Back Pain

People with ongoing or recurrent episodes of lower back pain should consider the benefits of walking as a low-impact form of exercise. Aerobic exercise has long been shown to reduce the incidence of low back pain. However, people with low back pain often find some forms of exercise too painful to continue, and therefore don’t get the exercise they need to maintain good health. Exercise walking is one way to benefit from regular exercise while not aggravating the structures in the lower back.

For some back conditions, walking will aggravate or cause too much pain to be bearable. For these patients, other low-impact exercise may be advisable, especially water therapy (pool therapy such as aqua-jogging or deep water aerobics). The body’s buoyancy reduces compression on the lower back, allowing for more pain free movement.Water therapy exercise programs consist of a variety of treatments and exercises that are done in a pool and may be specifically designed to provide relief of low back pain or neck pain. Theses exercises also serve to condition and strengthen muscles to help avoid future recurrences of back pain.