Walking And Your Lower Back

Walking And Your lower Back

 

 

Here's a quick tip that may help you if you are experiencing lower back pain when walking.  First of all, when you are walking, the compression placed on your lumbar spine is equivalent to 2.5 times your body weight (ouch!).  To reduce the compressive loading, muscle activity and torque placed on the lumbar spine, you should attempt to walk at a slightly faster pace while swinging your arms (at your shoulders not your elbows).  Faster walking may assist in "sharing" the compressive load, while walking slowly increases the static load on your spine and may be more painful.  It is hypothesized that swinging of the arms helps the body use elastic energy to move the body rather than just muscle contractions which are compressive to the spine.  So if you are experiencing lower back pain when walking, take notice of the speed of your gait.  Try to increase the speed while continuing to walk with a reciprocating pattern (right arm moves forward as left leg moves forward).  See how your back responds.