IF you have chronic back pain, the best thing you can do is to rest, and take it easy, right? Wrong. The myth that resting will help long-term back pain is something the Arthritis Research Campaign is keen to dispel during our winter awareness week, which runs until Saturday.

Although medical advice, backed up by research, is that people with back pain should stay as mobile and active as possible, there is still a belief among some health professionals and patients that exercise will make their back pain worse.

Instead of taking it easy, we need to get the message across that people with back pain should exercise their way back to fitness.

Just because it hurts doesn't mean to say that movement and exercise will do any further damage.

Although we know that exercise and manipulation can be helpful for people with back pain, it is not yet known which specific exercises work the best. That is why our charity is spending more than £2 million on research into back pain, including several clinical trials around the UK aiming to establish the most effective types of exercise or manipulation.

To get hold of our free booklet on back pain, which includes advice on self-help and exercises, call 01246 541106 or e-mail info@arc.org.uk

Jane Tadman,

Press officer,

Arthritis Research Campaign,

St Mary's Gate,

Chesterfield,

Derbyshire,

S41 7TD

Updated: 09:37 Wednesday, January 05, 2005