The spine

Abstract

The lifetime prevalence of low back pain has been reported at between 60 and 80%. By comparison, the lifetime prevalence of true sciatica has been reported at 5.3% in men and 3.7% in women. It is generally accepted that 90% of acute episodes of low back pain settle, allowing return to work within 6 weeks. However, some 3–4% of the population aged between 16 and 44 years and 5–7% of the population aged between 45 and 64 years will report back problems as a ‘chronic sickness’. The lifetime prevalence of neck pain reported in the literature varies from 66% to 71%. A higher prevalence is noted in females, those of advanced years, those with previous injury and those with perceived high job demands. The true incidence of brachalgia has not been reported in the literature.