After I hurt my back I had a couple of years of therapy and prescribed exercises including free weights and swimming but I really believe the long walks at night with my dog in the city and in the forest in the day time did more for the back then all the rest of it. It made the dog happy and that made me happy so I tried a little harder and probably walked triple the distance I would have on my own. It is really hard to argue with "A dog is man's best friend".