Consumer Reports On Health – Volume 38 Issue 4 April 2026 – Consumer Reports On Health

Still, almost any activity you enjoy—whether it’s walking or water aerobics—can be benefi cial. Movement boosts blood fl ow to the back, aiding healing and relaxing stiff muscles, says Jennifer O’Connell, MD, a physiatrist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. It also raises levels of feel- good hormones that help reduce pain. If movement hurts too much, ask your doctor about physical therapy. A therapist can help you strengthen your back muscles and show you ways to move that don’t exacerbate discomfort.

Your knees and hips may come into play, too. A 2024 study published in The Lancet Rheumatology found that hip-focused PT in older adults with chronic lower back pain had better results than therapy focused only on the spine. Also, limit sitting time. O’Connell recommends that for every 30 minutes of sitting, you stand for 5. Look Into Acupuncture In this form of traditional Chinese medicine, a practitioner inserts thin needles into specifi c body points. Adults over age 65 with chronic non- specifi c lower back pain who had eight to 15 acupuncture sessions over three months saw a greater improvement than those who got only standard care, according to a 2025 JAMA Network Open study.

A 2026 study in the journal Spine found that acupuncture improved quality of life. Medicare covers up to 20 sessions. Use Meds the Right Way A brief course of acetaminophen (Tylenol and generic) is the safest bet for fl are-ups, O’Connell says. The American Geriatrics Society advises that healthy adults over 65 take no more than 4,000 mg a day. Raj frequently recommends the antidepressant duloxetine (Cymbalta and generic) for recurring back pain.

A 2024 analysis in Experimental and Therapeutic Get more info on talk therapies that help with chronic pain at CR.org/mindpower. 1. Skeletal Muscle Relaxants Prescription medications such as cyclobenzaprine (Amrix) and tizanidine (Zanaflex), which are sometimes used to treat chronic back pain, can cause dizziness and drowsiness in older adults, says Jennifer O’Connell, MD, of the Hospital for Special Surgery. 2. Opioids While opioids such as oxycodone are sometimes prescribed for severe chronic back pain, for most older adults, side effects such as constipation outweigh the benefits, says Steven Atlas, MD, MPH, of Harvard Medical School.

3. Glucosamine Older research suggests that this popular supple- ment—often used for osteoarthritis discomfort— doesn’t work any better for chronic lower back pain than a placebo. 4. Lumbar Supports It’s usually fine to use a supportive cushion, pillow, or brace for a flare-up, O’Connell says. But they can weaken core and back muscles over time, so they aren’t recommended for long-term use. 5. Massage Guns These devices, which deliver rapid bursts of vibration into sore tissue, aren’t always good for older adults, according to Kelly Raj, DO, of Cleveland Clinic.

President and CEO Phil Radford Editorial Director, Digital & Print Ellen Kunes Creative Director Michael McCormick Deputy Editor, Print Diane Umansky Content Development Team Leader, Health & Food Lauren F. Friedman Deputy Content Editor Trisha Calvo Senior Multimedia Content Creators, Health Kevin Loria, Catherine Roberts Contributing Writers Ashley Abramson, Jennifer Cook, Sari Harrar, Hallie Levine, Sharon Liao, Michele Stanten Director, Food Policy Brian Ronholm Copy Editing Wendy Greenfi eld, Copy Chief; Noreen Browne, Alison France Fact Checking & Research Tracy Anderman, Manager; Liz Donovan, Christine Gordon, Lucy Huang, Joy Lopez-Crane Manager, Design Ewelina Mrowiec Art Director Lisa Slater Visual Editor Emilie Harjes Photographers Scott Meadows, John Powers Imaging Specialist Frank Collado Planning & Production Letitia Hughes, Terri Kazin Consumer Reports On Health is published by Consumer Reports, a nonprofi t, independent organization providing information and advice on goods, services, health, and personal fi nance.

CR’s income comes from the sale of its publications and from services, fees, and non commercial contributions and grants. No CR publication accepts outside advertising or is beholden to any commercial interest. Violations of CR’s No Commercial Use Policy Our ratings and reports may not be used in advertising. No other commercial use, including any use on the internet, is permitted without our express written permission. Consumer Reports On Health (ISSN 1058-0832) is published monthly by Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Ave., Yonkers, NY 10703. Nonprofi t Marketing Mail postage paid.

Canadian postage at Mississauga, Ontario (Cdn pub acct #2665247; agreement #40015148). Canada Post, please return all undeliver- able copies to: Consumer Reports On Health, P.O. Box 481, STN MAIN, Markham, ON L3P 0C4. The title Consumer Reports On Health is a trademark belonging to Consumer Reports. Contents of this issue copyright © 2026 by Consumer Reports. All rights reserved under international and Pan-American copyright conventions. Printed in USA.

Back Issues Single copies are available for $3 each ($5 each in Canada, includes Goods and Services Tax) from Consumer Reports On Health, 101 Truman Ave., Yonkers, NY 10703. Account Service or Change of Address Send address changes to Consumer Reports On Health, P.O. Box 5066, Boone, IA 50950-0066.

If the post offi ce alerts us that your newsletters are undeliverable, we have no obligation to fulfi ll your newsletters unless we receive a corrected address within two years. Phone orders and newsletter problems: 800-333-0663. Mailing Lists We exchange or rent our print postal mailing list so that it can be provided to other publications, companies, and nonprofi t organizations that off er products or services through direct mail.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 517090c1f74f0e26
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 2,214,762 bytes (2.112 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 0102030405
• Pages: 13
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 32.6 minutes
• Total Words: 6,521
• Total Characters: 40,555
• Average Words per Page: 501.62
• Average Characters per Page: 3119.62

Most Frequent Words

says (37), health (35), pain (31), back (30), consumer (28), reports (28), help (23), potatoes (21), study (21), like (20), get (17), it’s (17), shoes (16), found (15), percent (15), adults (15), protein (14), org (14), chronic (14), older (14), healthy (14), blood (13), doctor (13), also (13), page (12), use (12), people (12), diet (12), foods (12), depression (12), don’t (12), good (11), april (11), better (11), food (11), journal (11), lower (11), make (11), published (10), risk (10), according (10), head (10), vertigo (9), cr’s (9), lead (9), medical (9), medicine (9), you’re (9), body (9), cause (9), need (9), try (9), nutrition (9), symptoms (9), items (9), day (8), high (8), week (8), getty (8), images (8), higher (8), time (8), source (8), nutrients (8), feel (8), reduce (8), crystals (8), problems (7), levels (7), daily (7), still (7), less (7), way (7), suggests (7), ate (7), surgery (7), common (7), physical (7), therapy (7), side (7), take (7), you’ll (7), ber (7), phd (7), pick (7), feet (7), shoe (7), ways (6), mood (6), director (6), research (6), change (6), bottom (6), new (6), per (6), keep (6), sleep (6), care (6), bacteria (6), inflammation (6).

PDF Download