Improving Low Back Pain With Exercise Last reviewed by Faculty
of Harvard Medical School on May 1, 2012 By Howard LeWine, M.D.
Brigham and Women's Hospital About seven out of every 10 adults
develop back pain at least once in their lives. But despite how
common this affliction is, the actual specific cause of back
pain remains unknown 85% of the time. And this is still true
despite diagnostic advances such as CT scans and MRIs. Given the
difficulty in finding the exact cause, it comes as no surprise
that you hear about so many ways to treat low back pain. But the
reality is that 70% of people with an episode of low back pain
will be better in one month no matter what they do. And close to
90% will be significantly improved within three months. So what
roles do exercise and fitness have in the treatment of low back
pain? Multiple medical studies have examined this issue and the
conclusions are mixed. The types of exercises and when to start
them depend upon whether the back pain is acute (meaning that it
just