| Back
pain costs Americans around
$15 billion per year,
for medical care and disability
payments.1 Mechanical
low back pain is one of
the most common complaints
expressed to emergency
physicians in the United
States, and accounts for
more than 6 million cases
annually. As a health
problem, back pain is
the 3rd most expensive
disorder, after heart
disease and cancer.
Occupational
injury is a big contributor
to the country's back
pain woes. According
to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, in private
industry alone, there
were approximately 123,000
work related back injuries
in 2004. This is roughly
around 10% of all on
the job injuries reported
by private industry.
The good news is that
the number of back injuries
at work is declining:
in 2003 there were 132,000
reported cases.3 Productivity
suffers as well. While
the specific numbers
in citable reports vary,
rest assured that back
problems cost employers
many billions of dollars
in lost productivity
each year.
Types
of Back Pain
Back Pain can be categoried
in a number of ways:
Acute or Chronic
Acute is a word used
to describe an injury
or illness that comes
and goes. Acute injuries
come on quickly, have
very definite symptoms
which can be quite intense,
and heal in a relatively
brief period of time,
usually around 6 weeks.
Often, and unfortunately,
acute injuries to the
back or neck can be
the precursor to chronic
pain.
Chronic pain is also
referred to as persistent
pain. Doctors generally
categorize pain as chronic
if the same type of
pain in the same place
has lasted more than
between 3 and 6 months.
Specific Back
Pain or Non-Specific
Back Pain
Specific back pain is
back pain that is attributable
to identifiable conditions
such as those listed
below. According to
the National Pain Foundation,
less than 15% of diagnosed
back pain cases can
be attributed to a particular
cause.
This
site is designed to
allow information to
be freely chared on
the topic of back pain
and other pains associated
with back pain. If you
have any questions on
this topic, feel free
to submit it to us to
post on our site. If
you see a question that
you feel you can add
an answer to, please
send in a response with
the form provided.
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