Although back pain is incredibly common, it’s a fact that back pain can affect different people in different ways. For some people, back pain can be a temporary frustration that is only present during or following physical activity. For others, it can be an ever-present detriment to their comfort and quality of life. Chronic back pain can be a result of an underlying spinal condition like spinal stenosis or arthritis of the spine or it can simply be a product of natural aging. To help our patients gain a better understanding of back pain and who it specifically affects, our board-certified neurosurgeons have put together some statistics on the subject.

General Statistics

• Lower back pain is the most common cause of disability in the US.
• Experts estimate that as much as 80% of adults in the US will experience regular back pain at some time in their lives.
• In a study conducted by the American Physical Therapy Association, 39% of responders said that back pain affects their ability to conduct daily tasks and 37% said that their back pain affects their ability to sleep.

Age Statistics

• Although back pain typically originates for people between the ages of 30 and 50, it can occur at any time.
• Back pain is more common for people above the age of 65, especially those who experience bone loss due to osteoporosis.

Gender Statistics

• Back pain is slightly more common for women in the US than men.
• Roughly 30% of American women experience regular back pain, compared to roughly 26% of all men.
• This rate nearly doubles for pregnant women.

Productivity Statistics

• On average, Americans spend roughly $50 billion annually on treatments for back pain and related conditions.
• Indirect annual costs including lost productivity and wages as well as legal and insurance fees exceeds $100 billion annually.
• 54% of Americans who experience chronic back pain spend the majority of their workday sitting down, often in workstations that are not ergonomically friendly.

Here at Georgia Brain & Spine Center, we pride ourselves on helping our patients locate the root cause of their back pain and working with them to develop treatment plans that work. Our neurosurgeons perform a wide variety of treatments for chronic back pain including back surgery, minimally invasive spinal treatments, and non-surgical solutions. If you would like more information on the spinal treatments that we perform, or if you would like a second opinion on a previous diagnosis, please contact Georgia Brain & Spine at 1 (800) GO-SPINE to schedule a consultation today with Dr. Elias Dagnew or Dr. Michael Hartman. You can also follow along with us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news, practice updates, blog posts, and more.