A new study suggests that sitting down less each day could be a way to prevent existing back pain from getting worse.

Researchers found that when people with back pain sat even a little less each day, their pain was less likely to get worse over the next six months.  

“If you have a tendency for back pain or excessive sitting and are concerned for your back health, you can try to figure out ways for reducing sitting at work or during leisure time,” Jooa Norha, a researcher at the University of Turku in Finland, who was involved in the study, said in a statement.

The report was published on Sept. 28 in the journal BMJ Open.

Investigators evaluated 64 overweight or obese people with heart risk factors. The people were between 40 and 65 years old. About half were instructed to reduce the time they spent sitting each day by 40 minutes each day. All of the participants had some level of existing back pain when the study started. Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans to examine back muscles in the participants.

“Back pain intensity increased significantly more in the control group than in the intervention group in which back pain intensity remained unchanged,” the authors wrote.  Back pain increased by about twofold in the control group, on average, the data showed.

After six months, “back pain intensity increased significantly more in the control group than in the intervention [less sitting] group in which back pain intensity remained unchanged,” the team said in a HealthDay article.

“Our participants were quite normal middle-aged adults, who sat a great deal, exercised little and had gained some extra weight,” Norha said. “These factors not only increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, but also for back pain.”

The team isn’t quite sure how sitting less prevents back pain from getting worse, but say that working out can help.

“If you have a tendency for back pain or excessive sitting and are concerned for your back health, you can try to figure out ways for reducing sitting at work or during leisure time. However, it is important to note that physical activity, such as walking or more brisk exercise, is better than simply standing up,” Norha added.