Evidence of fair method ological quality suggests that walking is associated with significant improvements in outcome compared with control interventions but longer-term effectiveness is uncertain .
With the use of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force system , walking can be recommended as an effective form of exercise or activity for individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain but should be supplemented with strategies aim ed at maintaining participation .
OBJECTIVE To systematic ally review the evidence examining effects of walking interventions on  pain and self-reported function in individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain .
Randomised controlled trial of home-based walking programmes at and below current recommended levels of exercise in sedentary adults
Objectives : To determine , using unsupervised walking programmes , the effects of exercise at a level lower than currently recommended to improve cardiovascular risk factors and functional capacity . Design : 12 week r and omised controlled trial . Setting : Northern Irel and Civil Service ; home-based walking . Participants : 106 healthy , sedentary 40 to 61 year old adults of both sexes . Interventions : Participants were r and omly allocated to a walking programme ( 30 minutes brisk walking three days a week ( n = 44 ) or five days a week ( n = 42 ) ) or a control group ( n = 20 ) . Participants could choose to walk in bouts of at least 10 minutes . They used pedometers to record numbers of steps taken . Intention to treat analysis of changes within groups was done using paired t tests ; extent of change ( baseline to 12 week measurements ) was compared between groups using analysis of variance and Gabriel ’s post hoc test . Main outcome measures : Blood pressure , serum lipids , body mass index , waist : hip ratio , and functional capacity ( using a 10 m shuttle walk test ) . Main results : 89 % ( 93/106 ) completed the study . Systolic blood pressure and waist and hip circumferences fell significantly both in the three day group ( 5 mm Hg , 2.6 cm , and 2.4 cm , respectively ) and in the five day group ( 6 mm Hg , 2.5 cm , and 2.2 cm ) ( p<0.05 ) . Functional capacity increased in both groups ( 15 % ; 11 % ) . Diastolic blood pressure fell in the five day group ( 3.4 mm Hg , p<0.05 ) . No changes occurred in the control group . Conclusions : This study provides evidence of benefit from exercising at a level below that currently recommended in healthy sedentary adults . Further studies are needed of potential longer term health benefits for a wider community from low levels of exercise
Evidence of fair method ological quality suggests that walking is associated with significant improvements in outcome compared with control interventions but longer-term effectiveness is uncertain .
With the use of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force system , walking can be recommended as an effective form of exercise or activity for individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain but should be supplemented with strategies aim ed at maintaining participation .
OBJECTIVE To systematic ally review the evidence examining effects of walking interventions on  pain and self-reported function in individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain .