The Prevalence of Pain – Part 1: Low Back Pain

The Prevalence of Pain – Part 1: Low Back Pain

Pain is an inevitable part of the human experience. We have physical limitations, trials and tribulations, bumps and bruises, and even psychological manifestations that cause us pain. Along the way, we also feel the effects of aging which can cause us issues with pain.

But, aside from the normal discomfort associated with human existence, pain is too-often in our lives because of injuries or other conditions. These can keep us up at night, cause us to miss work, lead to increases in stress and even compromise our mental health, and just cause a lot of ache and toil.

Most often, our pain subsides – at least to a degree – as we rest and heal naturally or with ice, rest, aspirin, and other minor measures. However, chronic pain lasts for weeks, months or years, affecting more than 76.2 million Americans.

However, it doesn’t always have to be that way, as much of the root causes of pain are treatable. Chiropractic care is a great first choice for many people who are feeling the effects of pain and looking for relief. Sometimes, the situation is so severe that they need to consult with a MD or even opt for surgery, but studies show that chiropractic care is a more safe and effective first mode of treatment if possible.

So, just how prevalent is pain?

We combed through the research and findings from several studies to bring you some facts and stats about pain in U.S. adults. Specifically, we’ll look at low back pain today, and cover other common conditions that cause pain in a future blog.

The prevalence and effects of Low Back Pain

Every year, upwards of 65 million Americans suffer back pain, and 7.6 million adults are disabled by their back pain.

In fact, 80% of Americans will endure back pain at some point in their lives!

About 26% of all U.S. adults (more than one-quarter of us!) have experienced low back pain in the last three months alone.

Those totals include one in three older adult women and one in four older adult men with low back pain.

Annually, adults have an average of 7 million physician office visits with a diagnosis of back pain, 762 thousand outpatient hospital visits, over 1.5 million emergency department visits, and have about 227 thousand inpatient hospitalizations. (Not to mention countless millions of visits to a chiropractor!)

Each year, about 7 million adults visit MDs and physicians with low back pain, as well as 762,000 outpatient hospital visits, about 1.5 million Emergency Room visits, and 227,000 hospitalizations.

Our low back pain also results in the use of a huge number of prescription painkillers, which can often become highly addictive or dangerous. In fact, 24% of those with low back pain report taking a prescription painkiller or drug in the last month, and 18% of them take at least one such painkiller every day.

In fact, according to The National Institute of Health, between 5 and 8 million Americans regularly take opioid painkillers to manage some form of long-term chronic pain. (Around 1.5-2.5% of the entire population.) It’s also been well-documented how addictive those opioid painkillers are. In fact, Drugabuse.gov estimates that 2.1 million Americans suffer from substance abuse disorders stemming from prescription opioid pain relievers

Chiropractic care is an extremely cost-effective compared to treatment for various conditions initiated by a Medical Doctor, at a hospital, etc. In fact, low back pain care treated by a DC costs 20% less on average! In fact, it’s estimated that visiting a chiropractor for back pain instead of a MD would save Medicare $83.5 million each year.

But chiropractic treatment is most beneficial when Doctors of Chiropractic work in conjunction – not competition – with Medical Doctors. Chiropractic care is also not only corrective, but preventive, improving overall health, promoting wellness, and reducing pain and the possibility of future injury.

Approximately 20% (1 in 5) of U.S. adults ages 40–64 who are suffering from low back pain report being unable to work.

Among people less than 45 years old, low back pain is now the most common disability, leading to significant losses in work productivity, cessation of normal activities, and the loss of enjoyment in everyday life.

The prevalence and severity of low back pain go up as body weight increases. For instance, in in 5 normal-weight adults, 1 in 4 overweight adults, and 1 in 3 obese adults suffer from low back pain.

When people have low back pain, they are three times as likely (26% compared to 9%, respectively) to report poor or fair health as opposed to those without back pain.

Back pain sufferers are also four times as likely to report limitations in their daily activities, 4 times as likely to miss work, and twice as likely to suffer from reduced sleep (less than six hours per day).

Just as alarming, those with low back pain are seven times more likely to report psychological stress such as depression and even suicidal thoughts.

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Look for part two coming soon with information about the prevalence of neck and other pain.