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Back Pain Research
Back Pain - Frequency and Nature of
A good back brace support belt may keep you
adding to the statistics
The Extent of low back pain in the general population
In a study that review case loads in three year groups covering 10 years it
was found that back pain was a primary driver of visits to a physician.
There were almost 15 million office visits for "mechanical" low back pain in
1990, ranking this problem fifth as a reason for all physician visits.
1 Back pain is very common but most acute
attacks settle quite quickly, within a few days or weeks, at least enough to get
back to most ordinary activities. Most people manage to continue working or
return to work within a few days or weeks.
- 60-80% of adults of working age get back pain at some time.
- 15% to 20% of the population has an episode of pain in any 12-month period
in the United States
- Every year back pain occurs in 50% of working age adults
- Back Pain disables 2% of the US population
- Back Pain is the most common cause of disability for persons under the
age of 45
Though the cumulative pain is unimaginable, the number in hard dollars is
stunning; the total annual costs for back pain range from $35 to $56 billion.
Treatment costs alone are in excess of 24 Billion.3 9
90% of Back pain is caused by mechanical problems attributed to muscle or
ligament "strain or injury".
Many back injuries are occupational in nature. Occupational back injury is
clearly related to lifting and repeated activities. Persons in occupations that
require repetitive lifting, such as nursing19 and heavy industry are especially
at risk. Based on national data, occupational groups with the highest estimated
prevalence of low back pain (10.1-10.5%) include mechanics and repairers of
vehicles, engines and heavy equipment; operators of extractive, mining, and
material-moving equipment; and people in construction trades and other
construction occupations. 10
After reading this... is it any doubt why we have included selected products
to help reduce and prevent back pain caused by mechanical causes.
Mechanical Disorders of the Lumbar Spine
The 3 most common mechanical disorders of the lumbar spine are soft tissue
strain (muscle, ligament, facet joint), intervertebral disc herniation, and
spinal stenosis. Soft tissue strain is associated with pain localized to the
lumbar spine with radiation to the buttocks or thoracic area. The pain
associated with a herniated intervertebral disc or spinal stenosis is described
more commonly as radiating to the lower leg with a smaller component in the
lumbar spine.
Soft tissue strain
Soft tissue strain is often preceded by a physical event, such as lifting a
weight greater than the forces that can be supported by the muscular and
ligamentous structures of the lumbosacral spine. The pain radiates up and across
the paraspinous muscle with radiation limited to the buttocks. The patient may
experience pain simultaneously with the precipitating event. Subsequently, the
pain increases in intensity and becomes more widespread after a few hours.
Frequently, pain is increased after the patient has gone to sleep. Certain
motions may be painless while others are very painful. Physical examination
reveals limited range of motion of the lumbar area with muscle spasm and a
normal neurologic examination. The paraspinous muscles may be tender on
palpation. Passive stretching of the muscle is painful and frequently results in
reflex contraction. Radiographic evaluation of the lumbosacral spine is normal
or demonstrates a loss of lordosis.
Our selection of high quality back supports may help you from
adding yourself to the statistics. Here is our full line of
back supports and braces
Continue on for information on Back Pain
Treatments
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Hart LG, Deyo RA, Cherkin DC. Physician office visits for low back
pain. Frequency, clinical evaluation, and treatment patterns from a U.S.
national survey. Department of Family Medicine, University of
Washington, Seattle. Spine. 1995 Jan 1;20(1):11-9
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Frymoyer JW. Back pain and sciatica. N Engl J Med 1988;318:291-300.
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McCaig LF. Outpatient department summary: National Hospital Ambulatory
Medical Care Survey, 1992. Advance data from vital and health statistics; no
248. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 1994.
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Schappert SM. National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 1992 summary.
Advance data from vital and health statistics; no 253. Hyattsville, MD:
National Center for Health Statistics, 1994.
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Mitchell LV, Lawler FH, Bowen D, et al. Effectiveness and
cost-effectiveness of employer-issued back belts in areas of high risk for
back injury. J Occup Med 1994;36:90-94.
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Dwyer AP. Backache and its prevention. Clin Orthop 1987;222:35-43.
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Cunningham LS, Kelsey JL. Epidemiology of musculoskeletal impairments and
associated disability. Am J Public Health 1984;74:574-579.
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Nachemson A. Work for all; for those with low back pain as well. Clin
Orthop Relat Res 1983;179:77-85.
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Venning PJ, Walter SD, Stitt LW. Personal and job-related factors as
determinants of incidence of back injuries among nursing personnel. J Occup
Med 1987;29:820-825.
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Behrens V, Seligman P, Cameron L, et al. The prevalence of back pain, hand
discomfort, and dermatitis in the US working population. Am J Public Health
1994;84:1780-1785.
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