Back pain is LITERALLY killing you

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sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
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Jan 16, 2015
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Older people who suffer back pain were found to be at 13 per cent increased risk of dying early from all causes

IT seems the old saying “my back is killing me” may not be an exaggeration after all.

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Scientists recorded death rates in 4,390 Danish twins aged over 70 to see if there was any link with back pain.


Dr Paulo Ferreira, from the University of Sydney in Australia, said: “Our study found that compared to those without spinal pain (back and neck), a person with spinal pain has a 13 per cent higher chance of dying every year.

“This is a significant finding as many people think that back pain is not life-threatening.”

Studying twins allowed the scientists to rule out shared genetic factors as a major influence on the result.

If one of a pair of identical twins, who share the same genes, died early and the other did not, inherited genes were unlikely to be the reason.

Dr Ferreira said: “These findings warrant further investigation because while there is a clear link between back pain and mortality, we don’t know yet why this is so.

“Spinal pain may be part of a pattern of poor health and poor functional ability, which increases mortality risk in the older population.”

Policy makers should be aware that back pain is a “serious issue” and an indicator of poor health, he said.
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Dr Matthew Fernandez, also from the University of Sydney, said: “With a rapidly growing ageing population, spinal health is critical in maintaining older age independence, highlighting the importance of spinal pain in primary health care as a presenting symptom.

“Back pain should be recognised as an important co-morbidity that is likely to impact people’s longevity and quality of life.”

Dr Ferreira said commonly prescribed painkillers such as paracetamol and anti-inflammatory drugs were not effective at treating back pain and had side-effects.

“The best treatment for low back is a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity,” he said. “People need to get moving.”

Back pain affects about 700 million people around the world and is the number one cause of disability.

Up to four out of five British adults will experience back pain at some stage during their lifetime.

Costs associated with back pain account for roughly a fifth of the UK’s health expenditure, according to the National Pain Audit.
 

Leigh

Engineer
Pro Fighter
Jan 26, 2015
10,925
21,293
Correlation is not causation but I think the researchers did a good job of indicating that by saying it was just correlation at this point and further investigation should be done.
 

sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,420
46,562
Correlation is not causation but I think the researchers did a good job of indicating that by saying it was just correlation at this point and further investigation should be done.
At the very least, it let's sufferer's know that odds are, stagnancy from back pain will take it's toll.
 

canofsticks

I'm just here for the rumham
Aug 4, 2015
1,101
2,527
I herniated a couple disks (with a couple more bulging) my senior year of highschool.
Been living with various degrees of back pain the last 10+ years.
Looks like I'm dyin' young, boys!