BACK, NECK AND SHOULDER PAIN ARE BUSINESS? HOW BIG?
Updated: Sep 22, 2022
THE PROBLEM:
- BACK, NECK and SHOULDER problems are serious and big business today.
- It is a big business because half of the world is suffering from one of these pain.
- Back pain sometimes shoots down to their legs with tingling and numbness ( Sciatica)
- Neck pain is close to the brain, it scares, and it is a personal pain almost impossible to ignore.
- Limits you from playing your favourite sports.
- It keeps you home from work.
FACTS:
· Chronic back pain is probably the most expensive and costly medical problem in the world.
· 80% of people in western nations suffer at least one episode of back pain severe enough to require bed rest.
· In the USA, back pain costs more than $100 billion a year in everything from medical expenses to days lost from work.
· In 2012, Money magazine, citing a study in the American Medical Association Journal, said the average patient with a bad back spends $6,100(USD) every year.
· All back and neck surgeries are costly and requires a recovery period of several weeks, during which time most patients cannot go to work.
· More than 3.4 million visits for back pain per year to the hospital emergency department. (KUBEY)
THE SOLUTION:
1. Going to a doctor
2. Going to a physiotherapist
3. Going to a chiropractor
4. Using prescription or over-the-counter drugs
5. Some combination of the above
6. Doing nothing and hoping the pain will just go away
MY INSITE:
From a physiotherapy point of view, I can see that common Back, Neck and Shoulder pain is a massive business (which is growing each day) and a big health hazard. After spending 5 years in this healthcare industries, I feel that Back and Neck is the basic body part that gets hurt easily and most affected by the job culture (Desk job). We, as a healthcare worker or Human being, start recognizing this thing seriously. Let’s take this pain/problem seriously and talk to your doctor or your physiotherapist regularly and not fall into that 80% of the back pain patient’s category.
References
KUBEY, R. M. (n.d.). 7 STEPS TO A PAIN-FREE LIFE. In 7 STEPS TO A PAIN-FREE LIFE.