Less Aches & Pains: What a Giant Study Tells Us About Daily Movement

Moving more in daily life is associated with a lower risk of developing new musculoskeletal aches and pains. You don’t need intense workouts; light activity counts, sitting more is linked with higher likelihood of pain, and these benefits appear across different groups of people.

Why this matters

Musculoskeletal aches and pains are one of the most common reasons people seek healthcare. They’re also one of the most common reasons people stop moving — often because they’re worried movement will make things worse.

A large new study published in The Journal of Pain helps flip that script. Instead of asking whether exercise causes pain, the researchers asked a more practical and relevant question:

How does everyday movement relate to the risk of developing new musculoskeletal pain over time?

The study in brief

Researchers analysed data from the All of Us research program, combining wearable activity data from Fitbits with electronic health records (EHRs). This allowed them to objectively measure how much people were moving day to day and track whether they later developed new musculoskeletal pain.

Who was included?

A total of 56,502 participants shared Fitbit data. Of these, 14,754 met strict inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis.

The median age of participants was 51 years. Around 72% were female and 84% were white. The median follow-up period was 3.6 years.

Participants were monitored for the development of new musculoskeletal pain conditions, including back pain, neck pain, hip pain, and knee pain.

How much were people moving?

Across the follow-up period, participants averaged around 7,500 steps per day. The majority of their movement came from light-intensity activity, with a median of approximately 220 minutes per day. In contrast, participants accumulated much smaller amounts of moderate (“fair”, around 15.5 minutes per day) and vigorous (“very active”, around 14 minutes per day) activity.

What counts as “light activity”?

Light activity was defined as 1.5–3.0 METs (Metabolic Equivalent Tasks), a standard way researchers estimate energy use. This includes everyday movements such as slow walking, general house cleaning, washing dishes, working at a desk, and making the bed.

Why this matters

Most of the movement people did came from low-intensity, everyday activities rather than formal workouts or high-intensity exercise. This reinforces the idea that all movement counts, and that you don’t need to fall into an all-or-nothing mindset when it comes to being active.

What did the study find?

1. More daily movement was associated with fewer new aches and pains

People who accumulated more total daily movement were less likely to develop new musculoskeletal pain over time. This protective association was seen for back pain, neck pain, and hip pain.

In simple terms, moving more was linked with a lower chance of developing new pain.

2. Light activity counted

Participants did not need to engage in intense exercise to see benefits. Light activities such as walking, standing, household chores, and general day-to-day movement were all associated with a lower risk of developing pain.

This challenges the idea that only structured workouts or high-intensity exercise are worthwhile or beneficial.

3. Sitting more was linked with higher pain risk

Longer periods spent sedentary were associated with a higher likelihood of developing new musculoskeletal pain. This doesn’t mean sitting is inherently “bad”, but it does suggest that breaking up long periods of stillness may be important.

4. The benefits applied across different groups of people

The associations between movement and lower pain risk were generally consistent across different ages, men and women, different body sizes, and people who were more or less active at baseline. In other words, movement wasn’t only protective for already-fit people.

5. What about knees?

Knee pain stood out as slightly different. Higher activity levels were not associated with a reduced risk of developing new knee pain, but importantly, they were also not associated with an increased risk. This is reassuring for people who worry that being active will “wear out” their knees.

Important limitations (because nuance matters)

This study was strong, but not perfect. As an observational study, it can show associations but not cause and effect. Wearing a Fitbit may also influence behaviour, as people sometimes move more when they know they are being monitored. In addition, participants were more likely to be female, white, and more educated than the general population.

These factors don’t invalidate the findings, but they are important to keep in mind when interpreting the results.

What does this mean in the real world?

For most people, reducing aches and pains isn’t about doing perfect rehab or extreme exercise programs. It’s about moving more often, moving in varied ways, reducing long stretches of sitting, and building capacity gradually.

Simple, practical ways to apply this include breaking up sitting every 30–60 minutes, adding an extra 5–10 minutes of walking per day, doing household tasks standing where possible, taking the stairs when you can, and using short “exercise snacks” throughout the day. Small amounts add up.

The big takeaway

Less aches and pains isn’t just about doing more rehab. It’s about doing more life — with movement sprinkled throughout.

As we like to say at The Biomechanics: More movement. Better life.

If you’re dealing with ongoing aches or persistent pain and want a clinician to apply evidence like this in real-world rehab, we’re here to help you find movement that fits your body, goals, and life.

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Reference

Yakdan, Salim et al. Association of activity with the risk of developing musculoskeletal pain in the All of Us research program. The Journal of Pain, Volume 35, 105516.

Full open-access article available here: https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900%2825%2900743-6/fulltext