Large Study Links Walking ~100 Minutes/Day to Reduced Back Pain (Research Review)
Walking is one of the few health tools that checks three rare boxes at the same time: it’s free, it’s accessible, and it’s realistic to keep doing for years.
Many people believe that if movement isn’t intense, it doesn’t “count.” But your body doesn’t work on the same logic as fitness culture. Your joints, discs, muscles, and nervous system (especially if you suffer from chronic pain) can benefit from gentle and consistent movement.
A major recent study (over 11,000 participants!) adds real weight to that idea. It found that people who walked more each day (measured objectively with a device) had a lower risk of developing chronic low back pain over the next few years. Even better: the strongest signal was tied to minutes spent walking, not “crushing it” with speed or distance.
One quick note before we get into the research: walking isn’t meant to replace everything. I recently shared the FACE framework of long-term health (Flexibility, Aerobic Capacity, Coordination, Strength), and how each pillar has its place. Walking simply happens to be one of the most foundational ways to support your body daily, especially if you’re rebuilding trust with movement, protecting your back, or focusing on overall well-being.
The JAMA study found that approximately 100 minutes of walking daily is associated with less chronic low back pain.
The study followed 11,194 adults in Norway who did not have chronic low back pain at the start. Participants wore an activity monitor (accelerometer), which is important because it captures what people actually do rather than what they think they do. Then researchers checked in roughly 4 years later to see who developed chronic low back pain.
Participants reported whether they had low back pain lasting 3 months or longer in the past year, which is a standard way chronic pain is often classified in population research.
The researchers grouped people by how many minutes per day they walked. The lowest group walked under about 78 minutes/day. The higher groups ranged from roughly 78 minutes up to 125+ minutes/day.
If those numbers feel high, remember: this is total daily walking—everything counts (house, errands, parking lots, strolling, not just “exercise walks”).
Results:
Compared with the lowest walking group, people who walked more had a lower risk of developing chronic low back pain later:
Walking 78–100 minutes/day was linked with about 13% lower risk
Walking 101–124 minutes/day was linked with about 23% lower risk
Walking 125+ minutes/day was linked with about 24% lower risk
The pattern looked dose-responsive: more walking generally tracked with less risk, and the biggest gains appeared by around 100 minutes/day, with the curve leveling off after that.
What about walking faster?
The study also looked at walking intensity. Higher intensity was associated with lower risk too, but when researchers adjusted for both volume and intensity in the same model, the intensity effect got smaller.
Translation: speed may help, but minutes matter more.
That’s a huge mindset shift for people who feel discouraged by slow walking. What matters most is that you moved, not how fast or how far.
What this study tells us:
This study is strong because it was:
Large (over 11,000 people)
Prospective (walking measured first, pain assessed years later)
Device-measured (less guesswork)
But it’s still observational, meaning it can’t prove walking caused the risk reduction. It shows a convincing association. Even so, when a pattern is this consistent—and fits with what we already know about movement and pain biology—it becomes very actionable.
The takeaway: walking more each day was linked to meaningfully lower risk of future chronic low back pain—and the benefit did not require high intensity.
Supporting Evidence for Gentle Movement & Reduced Back Pain
The JAMA study is prevention-focused: “walk more now to reduce future risk.” What about people who already deal with back pain—and what about general health?
1) Walking Can Reduce Back Pain Recurrence (Randomized Trial Evidence)
A randomized controlled trial is one of the best tools we have for testing whether an intervention actually makes a difference.
A 2024 randomized trial in The Lancet tested a structured program built around walking plus education aimed at preventing low back pain from returning. The results supported the idea that a progressive walking plan can reduce recurrence and is practical to deliver at scale.
The JAMA study suggests walking lowers future risk. This trial evidence supports that walking can also be part of a plan that helps people stay out of the flare–recover–flare cycle, for those who already experience pain.
2) Exercise Therapy Helps Chronic Low Back Pain Overall (High-Quality Review)
Walking is only one form of gentle exercise…does movement in general help chronic low back pain?
A Cochrane Review (2021) concluded there is moderate-certainty evidence that exercise is more effective than no treatment/usual care for chronic low back pain, improving pain and function (with pain improvements often more pronounced than function improvements).
What’s useful about this review is that it included many fitness approaches people actually do in real life, including:
Core strengthening / “stabilization” exercises (the most common category in the review): gentle trunk and hip stability work like bird-dogs, dead bugs, side planks, pelvic tilts, glute bridges, and controlled back/hip endurance training.
General strengthening programs: broader resistance work for the legs, hips, and back (often simple, progressive strengthening rather than heavy lifting).
Aerobic exercise: walking programs, cycling, treadmill, or other steady-state cardio designed to build baseline conditioning.
Pilates-based programs: usually controlled, low-impact core + posture + movement-control routines.
Mixed exercise programs (also very common): combinations of two or more types, like light cardio + strengthening + mobility.
In plain English: movement tends to beat stillness. Not always dramatically, and not overnight…but reliably enough that it’s considered a core recommendation across many guidelines.
Why Gentle Movement Helps Back Pain Specifically
Back pain is rarely just a “hardware” issue. It’s also influenced by:
tissue sensitivity
protective muscle guarding
fear-avoidance patterns (the body learning “movement = danger”)
nervous system threat perception
Walking is low-threat for most bodies, rhythmic, and repeatable. It gently exposes your system to movement without demanding extreme ranges of motion or heavy loading. For many people, that’s exactly what builds confidence and capacity, and what signals to the body and nervous system, “I am safe,” which leads to “I can move.”
The Takeaway: Minutes Matter More Than Intensity
If you’re waiting until you feel motivated, pain-free, perfectly rested, or ready to “work out,” you may be waiting too long. These studies point toward a simpler strategy:
Make movement ordinary. Make it repeatable.
If you want a practical target inspired by the JAMA data, consider experimenting with:
More total walking minutes across the day (even broken into small chunks)
A pace that feels steady, comfortable, and sustainable
Gentle progression over weeks rather than abrupt spikes
And if you’re also working the broader FACE framework—mobility, strength, balance, cardio—walking can be the daily “glue” that keeps your body primed to do the rest.