We’re spending more money then ever on our backs, but problems are increasing.
Back Pain Spending Surge Shows No Benefit – Well – Tara Parker-Pope – Health – New York Times Blog
Americans are spending more money than ever to treat spine problems, but their backs aren’t getting any better.
Those are the findings of a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which found that United States spending on spine treatments totaled nearly $86 billion in 2005, a rise of 65 percent from 1997, after adjusting for inflation. Even so, the proportion of people with impaired function due to spine problems actually increased during the period, even after controlling for an aging population.
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Based on the sample, the researchers estimated that in 1997, about 21 percent of the adult population suffered from back or neck problems that limited their function. By 2005, that number grew to about 26 percent, after adjusting the numbers for age and sex.
It’s not clear why more people appear to be suffering from back and neck pain. It could be that rising obesity rates are taking an added toll on the spine, researchers suggested. Or it could be that excessive treatment of back problems is leading to more problems.
I had a low back pain problem for a quite number of years. Sometimes quite debilitating. But in the last four or five years I’ve eliminated 85% of my problems by using the nautilus back machine at my gym, and the simple exercises in this book Tom Faranda’s Folly: Latest read: "The Multifidus Back Pain Solution…" .
In my case, the problem was/is almost certainly low back muscle weakness, not a disc or bone problem.
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