Your back pain might flare up doing these movements, but they are not linked to long term damage

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-12-10 03:00

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Bending, twisting, pushing and pulling might flare up your lower back pain, but they are unlikely to be doing long-term damage, according to new international research. The study looked at the short and long-term impacts of ten movements, including lifting 4.5kgs, pushing or pulling, bending, climbing, twisting, squatting, crawling, sitting, standing, and walking, and found that while some activities were linked to a flare-up of back pain, none were linked to long-term disability. The authors say the findings suggest people with lower back pain can generally engage in these activities, with the knowledge that they are not linked to worse long-term outcomes.

Media release

From: JAMA

Transient and Long-Term Risks of Common Physical Activities in People With Low Back Pain

About The Study: This study found short-term, transient risks of low back pain flares associated with some activities but no associations with functional limitations at 1-year follow-up. These findings suggest that people with low back pain who engage in more of these activities do not have better or worse long-term outcomes.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: VA Puget Sound Health Care System, USA

Funder: Dr Suri, Mr Timmons, Dr Korpak, Ms Tanus, Ms Brubeck, Dr Daniels, Ms Scott, and Mr Morelli are employees of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle,Washington. This research was supported by grant I01RX003248 from the Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, VA Office of Research and Development. Drs Suri and Heagerty are core directors of the University ofWashington Clinical Learning, Evidence and Research (CLEAR) Center for Musculoskeletal Research, which is funded by grant P30AR072572 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

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