When it comes to back pain for women, recent evidence indicates that there is an association with mortality risk.
Common Cause of Disability
Most people (80 percent) experience back pain at some point. For older women, this means that they may also experience a reduction in regular activities. In fact, one of the leading causes of disability (worldwide) is back pain. Having a disability and related inactivity are generally associated with a greater risk of weight gain and aggravating chronic conditions such as heart disease or even increasing the risk of mortality. For example, poor balance and falls may lead to fractures and an increased mortality.
What Recent Medical Research Shows
Overall, when you compare women without back paid to those women experiencing more severe back pain, back pain is associated with an elevated risk of all-cause mortality among those women with back pain. By contrast, this was not the same conclusion for men when it came to suffering long-term back pain nor did age appear to have an effect on any link between age and back pain. [See: Roseen, E.J., Rajendran, I., Stein, P. et al. Association of Back Pain with Mortality: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Cohort Studies. J GEN INTERN MED (2021) at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-021-06732-6#citeas
Seeking Safe Treatment for Back Pain
Apart from medical management of back pain, there are many potential treatment pathways to manage back pain for women that may include chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage, physiotherapy, and counselling. In these difficult COVID-19 times, seeking treatment has become more important given the difficulties and stresses back pain sufferers are experiencing.
Please contact us at 1-905-850-SPINE for more information or to book an appointment.