First trial confirms swimming reduces disability from chronic back pain

Australian research has shown for the first time that a program of swimming can be clinically effective in reducing disability from chronic low back pain. Published today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the EduSwim clinical trial found an eight-week individualised program of swimming and education, guided by a physiotherapist, improved function and pain significantly more than education alone in people with back pain. “Swimming 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,” said lead researcher Deborah Wareham, a physiotherapist and PhD candidate in the Spinal Pain Research Centre at Macquarie University, Sydney. “We 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,” said Ms Wareham.