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The following is a summary of “Association of previous and current non-chronic low back pain with daily physical activity in middle- and older-aged adults,” published in the January 2025 issue of Pain by Gonçalves et al. 

Chronic low back pain (LBP) a cause of disability, was found to have a poorly explored association of non-chronic LBP with daily physical activity (PA) levels.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the association between previous and current non-chronic LBP and daily PA, as well as compliance with PA recommendations in middle and older adults (OAs).  

They analyzed data from volunteers in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging who provided information on LBP and wore an Actiheart accelerometer for 7 days. Generalized linear and logistic models were applied, adjusting for potential confounders.  

The results showed 662 volunteers (50.8% women, 68.1% white, mean age 68.0 ± 11.4 years) participated, of these, 240 (36.3%) reported previous non-chronic LBP with a mean pain intensity of 3.5 ± 2.0, and 38 (5.7%) reported current non-chronic LBP with a mean pain intensity of 4.1 ± 2.3. Participants with current LBP had significantly lower total (β -0.18, 95% CI -0.34 to -0.02) and vigorous (β -0.29, 95% CI -0.56 to -0.007) PA levels and lower odds of meeting PA recommendations (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.92) compared to those without LBP. No significant association was found for LBP intensity or previous non-chronic LBP and PA levels.  

Investigators concluded that current non-chronic LBP was negatively associated with PA levels, primarily due to reduced engagement in vigorous activity, with no association observed for pain intensity. 

Source: bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-025-21453-9