The Best Remedy For Back Pain (But You Will Not Like To Hear It)

Regular problems with low back pain? Then there is nothing else: especially a lot of exercises can alleviate the pain. Even more than support braces for the back or specialized shoe soles, physical exercise appears to be a natural painkiller. That indicates a large-scale Australian study.
Researchers from the University of Sidney were looking for the best remedy for back pain by putting together 21 global studies on this theme, with a total of more than 30,000 participants.

Physical activity as a medicine
While a support band on the back or insoles did not immediately appear to be an advantage, physical exercise resulted in a reduced risk of 25 to 40 percent of back pain in the year that followed. What type of exercise did not really matter, from aerobics to strength training everything turned out to be efficient. "If there were a pill that could reduce the risk of back pain by 30%, you would undoubtedly see it every day on television," says Dr. Tim Carey, who wrote a comment on the publication.

Pilates instead of pills
Nevertheless, according to Carey, doctors do not yet prescribe enough physical exercise, although it turns out to be very efficient. More often they reach back to a support belt for the back, insoles or pills. "Prescribing inefficient treatments to patients can give them a false sense of security," Carey adds. "We still see little exercise as a medicine because we live in a society that is pill-oriented." If we can believe Carey's advice, we'd better go to the pilates first, then go to the pharmacist. Reason enough to work on those intentions.