Statistics about Back Pain

Four out of five adults say they have experienced low back pain at some point in their lives according to Julian Berriman in an article in the REP journal Dec 2010.

Figures from the Health Executive in 2005/2006 indicated that 3.7 million working days a year are lost because of back pain.

More than £1 billion is spent each year by the Health Service on costs relating to back pain .

Most cases of back-pain are non-specific and roughly 85% of people experiencing back pain can be helped by learning to manage the pain through the promotion of active coping strategies, where the individual uses exercise and physical activity to manage their pain.

The biopsychosocial approach encourages a person to incorporate exercise into their life style to help them take control of their back problem.

So for most of us, structured gentle exercise is the first step to regaining our lives back. Guidance on managing back pain can be found on the link below and it does recommend yoga :- ) !!!

http://guidance.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/11887/44543/44543.pdf