The reason why walking brings huge benefits for low back pain is because walking helps to promote blood flow to stiff muscles and increases endorphin production, which naturally reduces pain as well as strengthens core muscles and back muscles to support your spine.
Walking is a low impact exercise that improves flexibility in your hips as well as in your hamstrings, which also reduces inflammation and decompresses lumbar discs without placing excessive stress on your joints.
When you walk, your blood flow improves to the soft tissues and joints in your lower back, which also helps to reduce inflammation and aids in healing.
The increase in blood flow from walking also triggers the release of endorphins, which are your body's natural painkillers, which help to manage chronic back pain.
Regular walking also helps lower back pain by engaging core and back muscles, which also help to stabilize your spine and reduce your risk of further injury.
And walking, keeps your spine as well as your surrounding muscles, flexible and reduce stiffness in your hips, hamstrings and back, and unlike running or high intensity sports, walking is instead gentle on your joints, while also still providing the necessary mobility and it also promotes an upright posture, which also helps to decompress your lumbar discs.
Walking also helps to maintain a healthy weight, which also reduces the overall load and pressure that is placed on your spine, which helps to also reduce back pain and lower back pain.
The muscles that need strengthening for lower back pain are your core abdominals, transversus abdominis, glutes, buttocks and your hamstrings as these muscles support your spine and your pelvis.
Exercises like bird-dogs, glute bridges and opposite arm/leg lifts and core engagement, "drawing navel to spine", build stability and stretching tight hamstrings and hip flexors reduces strain on your back.
Having a strong, flexible posterior chain, glutes and hamstrings and a stable core are all crucial for reducing spinal impact.
Lower back pain that occurs just above the buttocks often comes from muscle strain, poor posture, sciatica, herniated discs, or sacroiliac (SI) joint issues, stemming from everyday activities, lifting, prolonged sitting, or underlying spinal conditions like spinal stenosis or arthritis, with common culprits including overworked gluteal or lower back muscles.
People with persistent low back pain also have altered patterns of coordination between the trunk and pelvis and increased paraspinal muscle activation during walking.
If you have lower back pain and you can barely walk from the lower back pain, you should seek immediate medical help if you have numbness, weakness, or loss of bowel/bladder control, as this signals a serious issue like nerve compression, but otherwise, try gentle movement (walking short distances), hot/cold packs, OTC pain relievers, and gentle stretches (like Child's Pose) for temporary relief, while contacting a doctor for persistent or severe pain to find the root cause and get proper treatment like physical therapy.
Lower back pain when standing or walking can be due to muscle fatigue or injury.
The lower back pain may also be due to conditions such as spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, hyperlordosis, and sciatica.
Lower back pain is common and may occur due to many factors.
People with back pain including lower back pain often walk or run with, slower speed, slower cadence, shorter steps. excessive forward lean of the trunk.
And the person with lower back pain or back pain in general may also have stiffer movement between trunk and pelvis.
It's okay to continue being active and exercising with lower back pain and back pain in general.
Being active and exercising won't make your back pain or lower back pain worse, even if you have a bit of pain and discomfort at first.
Staying active will actually help you get better.