Back Pain ‘Leading Cause of Disability’ Confirms New Study

Back pain may now be the leading cause of disability worldwide according to a new international study stating that ‘back pain is behind more disability than any other condition’. The study in Annals of Rheumatic Disease found back pain affecting nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide. Unfortunately Western Europe is the continent where back pain is most common, followed by North Africa and the Middle East, and was lowest in the Caribbean and Latin America. It also found back pain becomes more common with increasing age.

So what does this mean for the people of Leeds and the UK in general? In the UK the prevalence of back pain is much higher with back pain affecting 8 out 10 people in their lifetime. And with the UK’s aging population this can only mean that as a nation we have to become better prepared to cope with the future back pain problems.

The good news is that chiropractors are in a great position to be able to help. All day every day is spent assessing peoples’ spines, learning what good movement is and what restricted or dysfunctional movement is. Restricted and or dysfunctional movements (with or without accompanying pain) will more often than not cause pain in the future. In simple terms, as a chiropractor, I work to maintain the spinal joints, ligaments and surrounding muscles and soft tissues in optimum condition to enable free movement. This may mean manipulation to give more mobility or in some cases exercises to build strength and stability.

Find out how visiting a chiropractor can help your back pain, book an appointment at our Leeds clinic by calling 07828 686026.