Suffering from chronic back pain? Nature may help you, shows study

If you are suffering from chronic back pain, a walk in the woods can help you better manage the condition, according to a study on Tuesday. The study, published in The Journal of Pain, showed that being time in or around nature can provide people suffering from chronic lower back pain with a degree of escapism that helps them better manage their physical discomfort. In a first-of-its-kind experiment, researchers from the University of Plymouth, UK, asked 10 people experiencing chronic lower back pain, in some cases for almost 40 years, about the role nature plays in any coping strategies they employ to help manage their condition. They found that people who were able to get out in nature said it enabled them to connect with others on a social level, whereas they might otherwise spend the majority of their time indoors and isolated. It also provided them with a degree of distraction from their pain and a sense of escapism from their daily lives, and they enjoyed the opportunity to exercise in pleasant surroundings, preferring it to gyms or similar settings. In addition, natural features such as fresh air and the sound and visual presence of water, the interviewees said, helped give them a feeling of tranquillity that relieved the stresses and anxieties created by their pain levels. “Lower back pain, like many other forms of physical discomfort, can be debilitating, isolating, and exhausting. But amid a push for novel and more holistic therapies to treat chronic pain, nature has been suggested as a potential option,” said lead author Alexander Smith, a researcher in the University’s School of Psychology. “Our research showed that those able to get out into nature saw the benefits of doing so, both from a physical and a mental perspective,” Smith added. Based on their findings, the researchers recommended that people with chronic lower back pain — and the clinicians treating them — give greater consideration to the role nature can play in their health and wellbeing.