FRIDAY, July 24, 2026 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Suffering from low back pain?<\/p>\n
A few laps in the swimming pool might help, a new study says.<\/p>\n
An eight-week swimming program significantly improved function and pain among a group of people with back problems, researchers reported recently in the British Journal of Sports Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey improved by about 50% from where they were before starting the program,\u201d lead researcher Deborah Wareham<\/a>, a doctoral student at Macquarie University in Sydney, said in a news release.<\/p>\n For the new clinical trial, researchers recruited 76 adults aged 26 to 74 who\u2019d been battling low back pain<\/a> for at least three months.<\/p>\n Half were randomly assigned to take part in an eight-week individualized swimming program, supported by four telehealth coaching sessions with a physical therapist.<\/p>\n \u201cThey weren\u2019t regular swimmers, but they were able to swim 25 meters and feel confident in the water,\u201d Wareham said. They had a goal of performing three 30- to 45-minute swimming sessions by the end of the trial.<\/p>\n The other half didn\u2019t swim, but did receive education also presented to the swimming group. The education covered concepts like “Pain does not always equal harm;” “The back is made for movement;” “Flare-ups are likely;” and “The best management is to keep moving.”<\/p>\n \u201cSwimming is commonly recommended as an exercise for people with chronic low back pain, but there was a complete lack of evidence about whether it actually works,\u201d Wareham said. \u201cWe undertook this study because we felt there was an urgent need for research to determine if swimming was effective or not for chronic back pain.\u201d<\/p>\n After eight weeks, the swimmers had significantly better function and less pain.<\/p>\n \u201cCompared to the control group who received education only, swimmers scored on average 2.5 points or 30% lower on a widely used disability scale,\u201d Wareham said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, the improvement we saw in our study compares favorably with effects reported for other exercise such as Pilates in a recent meta-analysis,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The benefits from swimming persisted after a half-year and full year of follow-up, although differences between the two groups declined over time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe argument for swimming in back pain is logical, but it was important to test this,\u201d senior researcher Mark Hancock<\/a> said in a news release. He is co-director of the Spinal Pain Research Center at Macquarie University.<\/p>\n \u201cSwimming can improve range of motion, strength and general aerobic capacity and the buoyancy of water can help people engage with movements that might otherwise be painful or limited,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cImportantly, participants told us swimming built their confidence to start exercising and engage with other meaningful physical activities.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Some participants continued swimming after the program, while others moved to other forms of exercise.<\/p>\n \u201cNow we have the evidence to support the recommendation \u2013 swimming is a suitable exercise for people with back pain, and it helps,\u201d Hancock concluded.<\/p>\n More information<\/p>\n