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Glendale Adventist Medical Center
1509 Wilson Terrace
Glendale, CA 91206
Ph: (818) 409-8000






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I work in an office with three other women who are very into running and exercising. They look great but it seems like they always have something wrong with them -- back pain, knee problems, ankle sprains. Isn't exercise supposed to help you stay fit? Can you overdo it?

What's the ideal level of physical activity? The World Health Organization says that everyone should engage in physical activity and exercise for at least 30 minutes five days out of the week. This can be done in small segments (five or 10 minutes at a time) or it can be done all in one half hour period of time. Less than this and you are labeled sedentary (inactive). More than this and you might actually increase your risk for injury and low back pain. A recent study from The Netherlands confirmed that too little or too much activity can be a risk factor for low back pain. Some studies have already shown that high physical loads (e.g., twisting, bending, lifting, extreme sports) are linked with episodes of low back pain. Others point out the effect of being too sedentary (inactive) as a possible risk factor. So that leaves us with the question: how much activity is the right amount to promote a healthy back? It turns out that the relationship between physical activity and low back pain looks like a U-shape. At one end (the upper left side of the U), total inactivity and high risk of low back pain go together. In the middle (the bottom of the U-shape), low to moderate intensity of activity is paired with low risk of back pain. And at the far end (the upper right side of the U-shape) reflects how maximum activity results in a high risk of back pain. This U-shaped relationship seemed to hold true more for women than for men. The reason(s) for this remain unknown. Type of activity also made a difference. Anyone involved in sports activities had a lower risk of developing low back pain. The authors suggest that back loading forces are different for sports activities and this dynamic may account for the reduced risk of chronic low back pain. Too much exercise (too often, too long, too intense) can result in the type of injuries you are observing in your co-workers. It can also compound the problem if they are also restricting calories in order to lose weight. As Ben Franklin once said, Moderation in all things. When it comes to exercise, this seems to really hold true.

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