Sitting Less Helps Prevent Back Pain From Getting Worse
By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Oct. 3, 2024 -- Avoiding couches and chairs might be a good way of keeping your back pain from getting worse, new research suggests.
Finnish researchers found that when people with back pain sat even a little less each day, their pain was less like to progress over the next six months.
“If you have a tendency for back pain or excessive sitting and are concerned for your back health, you can try to figure out ways for reducing sitting at work or during leisure time," advised study lead author Jooa Norha, of the University of Turku.
There's not been a lot of study into the effects of prolonged sitting on back health and back pain, Norha's group noted.
So, they asked 64 overweight or obese people with heart risk factors to reduce the time they spent sitting each day by 40 minutes. All of the participants were already battling some level of back pain when they entered the study.
After six months, "back pain intensity increased significantly more in the control group than in the intervention [less sitting] group in which back pain intensity remained unchanged," Norha's team concluded.
He said he wasn't surprised by the finding, which was published recently in the journal BMJ Open.
“Our participants were quite normal middle-aged adults, who sat a great deal, exercised little and had gained some extra weight," said Norha, who is a doctoral researcher and physiotherapist at the university. "These factors not only increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, but also for back pain."
Just how being more active curbs back pain isn't clear.
The Finnish team used MRIs to examine the participants' back muscles but "we did not observe that the changes in back pain were related to changes in the fattiness or glucose metabolism of the back muscles," Norha said.
He certainly advocates exercise to folks with back pain.
"It is important to note that physical activity, such as walking or more brisk exercise, is better than simply standing up," Norha said in a university news release.
Sources
- University of Turku, news release, Oct. 2, 2024
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted October 2024
Read this next
First Malaria Drug Approved for Newborns and Small Babies, Coartem Baby
WEDNESDAY, July 9, 2025 — A new malaria treatment has been approved for newborns and infants under 11 pounds, filling a major gap in care for some of the most vulnerable...
Insured? You're More Likely To Survive Cancer Through Immunotherapy Treatment
WEDNESDAY, July 9, 2025 — Powerful new immunotherapies are offering fresh hope for patients with many different types of cancer. Unfortunately, that hope doesn’t...
American Academy of Pediatrics Sues HHS Over Vaccine Policy
TUESDAY, July 8, 2025 -- The American Academy of Pediatrics is suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services because of its recent decisions regarding vaccines for...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.