When Rest Is Not the Answer: How Walking Helped Mrs VJ Beat Back Pain

The moment that changed her mind about movement

Mrs VJ is in her mid-sixties, and when she came to see me, she had been in pain for weeks.

It had started as a nagging ache in her lower back — the kind most of us have experienced at some point and assume will pass on its own. But instead of settling, it had spread. A sharp, electric sensation began travelling down her leg: the unmistakable signature of sciatica, caused by an irritated nerve in the lower back that sends pain signals along its entire length.

She had already seen another doctor. She had been prescribed anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, and given the advice that so many back pain sufferers receive: rest. Let it heal. Don’t aggravate it.

The problem was that Mrs VJ had suffered a stomach ulcer in the past — a history that made standard anti-inflammatory medication genuinely dangerous for her. So she did what felt sensible. She rested. She applied heat packs. She waited.

But the pain didn’t ease. It got worse.

By the time she arrived at my practice, it was painful to watch her cross the waiting room. She was bent sideways — her body instinctively leaning away from the source of pain in a desperate attempt to relieve the pressure. Every step was an effort. Getting from her chair to my consulting room was an achievement.

Her examination told me what I needed to know: severe muscle spasm, significantly limited movement, and a nerve under enough pressure to produce that radiating pain down her leg. I needed to rule out anything serious — a significant disc prolapse or any structural issue requiring urgent intervention — and once I was satisfied there was nothing dangerous driving her symptoms, we could talk about treatment.

She expected another prescription and another instruction to rest.

What I told her surprised her.

“I want you to move”

I did prescribe medication — this time one that was safe for her stomach — to take the edge off the acute pain and muscle spasm. But the instruction that accompanied it was just as important as the medicine itself.

I asked her to walk.

Not far. Not fast. Not outside if that felt too much. Just short, gentle walks — a few minutes at a time, two or three times a day — around her home and in her garden. I asked her not to stay in any one position for too long. To keep the body moving, gently and within her comfort level, rather than bracing against the pain by staying still.

She was understandably cautious. Movement had been hurting her. The idea of deliberately doing more of it felt counterintuitive. But she trusted the reasoning and gave it a try.

Within three days, her pain had begun to ease.

Within three weeks, the sciatica was gone.

Why movement heals — and stillness can make it worse

The instinct to rest when something hurts is deeply human. Pain feels like a warning signal, and stopping feels like the appropriate response to that signal. For certain injuries — a broken bone, a fresh surgical wound, an acutely inflamed joint — rest absolutely has its place.

But lower back pain, and the muscle spasm that so often accompanies it, responds very differently.

When the muscles of the lower back go into spasm, they tighten and contract in an effort to protect the spine. The problem is that prolonged spasm reduces blood flow to the affected area, starves the muscles and discs of oxygen and nutrients, and creates a cycle of stiffness and pain that feeds on itself. The longer you stay still, the tighter everything becomes, and the harder it is to move when you finally try.

In Mrs VJ’s case, the muscle spasm was also placing pressure on a nearby nerve — hence the sciatica. The pain travelling down her leg was not a separate problem from her back pain. It was a consequence of it. And the way to relieve that nerve was not to wait passively, but to gently encourage the spasm to release.

That is what walking did.

Walking — even slow, short, gentle walking — does several things simultaneously that no amount of lying still can replicate:

It encourages muscle release. The rhythmic movement of walking gently works the muscles of the lower back, hips, and pelvis, encouraging them to loosen rather than lock further. It is the difference between kneading stiff dough and leaving it untouched.

It improves circulation. Movement drives blood flow to muscles and tissues that are starved of it when you’re stationary. Better circulation means faster delivery of the things the body needs to heal — oxygen, nutrients, anti-inflammatory compounds.

It relieves nerve pressure. As the muscle spasm gradually released in Mrs VJ’s back, the pressure on the irritated nerve eased alongside it. The sciatica didn’t disappear because the nerve was treated directly — it disappeared because the underlying cause, the spasm, was resolved. And movement was central to that resolution.

It releases the body’s own pain relief. Walking triggers the release of endorphins — the brain’s natural pain-modulating chemicals. This is not a small effect. It is a measurable, physiological shift that can meaningfully reduce pain perception during and after movement, even when that movement is gentle.

It breaks the fear-avoidance cycle. One of the most damaging consequences of chronic pain is the way it rewires our relationship with movement. We begin to associate moving with hurting, and so we move less. Moving less makes us stiffer and weaker, which makes movement hurt more — confirming the fear and completing a vicious cycle. Every gentle, manageable walk is a small piece of evidence against that fear. It rebuilds the body’s confidence in itself.

What the evidence tells us

Mrs VJ’s experience is not unusual — and it is not merely anecdotal.

A landmark 2024 study published in The Lancet — the WalkBack trial — followed over 700 adults who had recovered from an episode of low back pain and found that those who walked regularly went nearly twice as long before experiencing a recurrence compared to those who remained sedentary. Around six months between flare-ups, versus three months for non-walkers. For a condition as common and disabling as lower back pain, that is a significant result from an intervention that costs nothing and requires no equipment.

Separate research from Norway, following over 11,000 adults over several years, found that those who walked more than 100 minutes daily had a 23% lower risk of developing chronic lower back pain in the first place. Not cure — prevention. Walking as a daily habit appears to protect the spine over time, not just ease it when things go wrong.

The researchers behind the WalkBack trial noted something that struck me as particularly important: walking is accessible to most people regardless of where they live, what they earn, or what fitness level they are starting from. It is, in the truest sense, a democratic medicine.

You don’t need a park, a programme, or a plan

Mrs VJ did not begin her recovery with a structured walking programme. She began with a few minutes in her hallway and a short loop around her garden.

This is worth sitting with, because I think many people underestimate how small a starting point can legitimately be — and how powerful that small start can become.

If you are in pain, or significantly deconditioned, or simply haven’t moved much in a long time, the goal is not distance. It is not speed. It is not steps counted on a watch. The goal is to move, gently and consistently, more than you were moving yesterday.

That might mean:

• Walking on the spot in your kitchen while the kettle boils
• A slow loop around the garden, twice a day
• A gentle stroll to the end of the road and back
• Ten minutes of indoor walking to music you enjoy, in your own living room

All of it counts. All of it signals to your body that movement is safe, that the muscles can release their protective grip, and that the nerve — if one is involved — can slowly be freed from the pressure that is causing it to scream.

The key is not to stay in any one position for too long. Sitting for hours, lying still for hours — both reinforce the very stiffness you are trying to resolve. Short, frequent movement throughout the day is more effective than a single long walk followed by prolonged rest.

When to seek medical attention before walking through pain

Gentle movement is safe for most lower back pain — but stop and see a doctor promptly if you experience:

• Pain that is sharply worsening with any movement
• Strong shooting pain into the leg that is getting worse, not better
• New weakness or numbness in the legs or feet
• Any loss of bladder or bowel control

These symptoms need proper assessment before exercise of any kind.

Movement as medicine

There is a phrase I come back to often in my work as a lifestyle medicine doctor: the body was built to move. Not to perform. Not to compete. Simply to move — regularly, gently, and consistently, throughout a lifetime.

When we stop moving, things break down. Muscles weaken. Joints stiffen. Nerves become sensitised. Circulation slows. Pain becomes easier to trigger and harder to resolve.

When we start moving again — even in the smallest, most modest way — the body responds. Not always dramatically. Not always quickly. But consistently, and often more profoundly than any single medication can achieve.

Mrs VJ walked a few minutes at a time, in her home and her garden, and within three weeks her sciatica had resolved. She didn’t need a gym. She didn’t need a personal trainer. She needed permission to move, the right support to do so safely, and the reassurance that her body was capable of healing.

That is something I wish more people heard earlier.

Movement is not the enemy of healing. In the right circumstances, it is the most powerful tool we have.

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