Some help for low back pain
I came across a
research article suggesting people with low
back pain fared better with Nordic walking than with instruction about
remaining generally active.
One limitation of
the article: the researchers said the results showed those doing Nordic walking
felt better but that the results weren't statistically
significant. That is, the data wasn't strong enough to show the improvement
could be attributed to something other than chance.
Does that mean
Nordic walking isn't worth doing? More likely, some participants will tell
their friends Nordic walking worked. Here are a couple of articles where the
connection between Nordic walking and low back pain appeared to be
statistically significant:
- "Nordic walking was used to rehabilitate a 48 year Woman who suffered from back and leg pain."
- "Chronic low back pain, a complaint often received from elderly women, was reduced by pole-induced power walking."
Research into the
benefits of Nordic walking continues, something doctoral candidates might look
into if they're looking for dissertation topics.
