Riassunto dello studio

Seven hundred and one adults who had recently recovered from an episode of non-specific low back pain were randomly assigned to either an individualized, progressive walking and education intervention (n=351) or a no-treatment control group (n=350). The primary outcome was the time to the first recurrence of activity-limiting low back pain. Secondary outcomes included any recurrence of low back pain, care-seeking recurrence, disability, health-related quality of life, and physical activity levels. Participants were followed for a minimum of 12 months and up to 36 months. Overall, the study found that the intervention significantly reduced the risk of an activity-limiting recurrence, with a median time to recurrence of 208 days in the intervention group compared to 112 days in the control group. The intervention also showed high cost-effectiveness, with an incremental cost per QALY (quality-adjusted life-year) gained of AU$7,802. These findings suggest that a structured walking and education program is an effective, accessible, and scalable approach to preventing low back pain recurrence.