Chiropractic Awareness Week

Chiropractic Awareness Week
14th - 20th April 2008

England Is In The Top Three Countries For Back Pain

A poll of over 15,000 people across seven European Countries reveals that Germany is number one, Italy is number two and England is third for all the wrong reasons, with 52% complaining of back pain.

The 'Euro Back Pain Barometer' from The British Chiropractic Association (BCA), shows back pain in the UK is on the increase, rising by 5% in just 12 months, with 52% of the country currently suffering, compared to 47% in 2007.

The new survey, launched to coincide with the start of Chiropractic Awareness Week (14th to 20th April), reveals that across the countries surveyed, on average, at least half of the population suffers with back pain.

Across all seven countries, the single biggest cause of back pain is bad posture; but it's not just bad posture that can trigger back pain problems:

• Italian fashion has a lot to answer for with nearly 15% of back pain sufferers in Italy blaming their high heels for back pain
• Whilst in Germany, using a computer is the second most common trigger for back problems
• In the UK, pregnancy is a bigger trigger of back pain than anywhere else

 More shocking is the 'grin and bear it' culture across Europe, on average, people with back pain have been suffering for 3-5 years. However 23% of Brits with back pain have been suffering for 10 or more years.

The soaring levels of back pain across Europe are also having an effect on the economy with many taking long periods of time off work. In the UK more than 1 in 20 sufferers say they have taken more than six months off work, compared to Italy where it is less than 1 in 500.

Not surprising when you consider that the vast majority of back pain sufferers across all countries have office based jobs, where poor posture seems to be increasingly prevalent. Hours of sitting and slouching over computer keyboards is evidently taking its toll.

Over one in four sufferers across Europe are experiencing back pain on a daily basis, hitting the medicine cabinet as the common port of call, despite the majority of respondents admitting that pain killers do not work for them.

Doug Clark from Dynamic Chiropractic comments, "Incidence of back pain is continuing to rise at an alarming rate in Britain and across Europe as a whole. It really does affect every aspect of our lives.

"We are encouraging people to incorporate a very simple three minute exercise routine, entitled 'Straighten Up Europe', into their daily lives to help strengthen the spine and improve posture. Chiropractors are State Registered, treating all joint, muscle and nerve pain. There really is no need for people to put up with aches and pains."