Women 'more likely to suffer from back pain'

Monday, 11 June 2012 12:33 PM

Women in their late 50s are most likely to be affected by back pain, according to new figures. A study by Nuffield Health of 1600 16-65 year olds found those aged 55-65 were most likely to be affected (58%), with women most likely to suffer.

It seems Britain is a nation in pain, with back pain is high among every age group, with half (51%) of people aged between 16 and 54 suffering some form of back pain – neck to hip – in the past year. A third of those surveyed said they had lived with back pain for more than a year; a quarter said more than two years and one in seven (15%) said they had been in pain for more than five years.

One in five people who responded said that back pain interfered with their work and home life ‘most days’ with one in 20 people saying they lived with constant pain. For those aged over 55, that figure doubles, with almost one ten (9%) saying they are in constant pain, while a quarter say they are in pain ‘most days’.

Manoj Krishna at Nuffield Health Tees Hospital said: “Back, neck and spine pain can be very debilitating and often leads to depression and long term sickness. Early treatment offers the best results but often patients are caught in a dilemma between their pain on the one hand and a fear of treatment on the other."

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