Up to 80% of all
adults have at
least one episode
of low back pain
in their lifetime.Some Facts and Figures
Every year, nearly 50% of the adult population worldwide will experience at least one
episode of back pain. Up to 80% of all adults have at least one episode of low back pain
in their lifetime. This information is certainly not going to cheer you up. However, one
thing is definite – you are not alone in your agony. There are millions upon millions of
back pain sufferers just like you and me.
Most of these back pain episodes are temporary in character (also known as acute back
pain) and we hardly ever see a doctor unless we are really in agony or totally
incapacitated. Two thirds of low back pain sufferers get well and go back to work within
1 – 2 weeks and about 90% within 2 months. The remaining 10% will tend to become
chronic and have pain and disability lasting beyond 3 months.
The problem is, as I have said earlier, that back pain has a high
recurrence rate. Once you have had severe back pain, the
likelihood of it striking again is increased fourfold. Each
recurrence increases the likelihood of a new one. This is why
half the adult population suffers from low back pain yearly.
Women and backache
Women are equally, if not more, prone to suffer from backaches than men. It has been
found that:
The annual incidence of back pain amongst women is more than 40%, i.e. nearly
half the female population in the world suffers from at least one attack of back
pain per year.
There are more women than men in the youngest and oldest age groups.
All age groups are affected. A third of 16-24 year olds complain of back pain and
nearly half among those aged 45-64 years.
Men are much more likely to have a short, sudden attack while women's back
pain tends to last longer than men's.