Lower back pain is the leading cause of years lived with disability (YLD). Global Burden of Disease data for 2016 indicates that back pain prevalence around the world was recorded in 511 million with a further 291 million experiencing neck pain. In addition, back pain YLD had increased 19.3% in the decade to 2016.1

Back pain is the UK’s largest single cause of disability, with lower back pain alone accounting for 11% of the population’s total disability. Around 20% of GP consultations in the UK relate to musculoskeletal conditions, with over 9 million people living with long-term back pain in England alone. Neck pain is the third leading cause of YLD (after migraine) in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and ranks fifth in England (after migraine, hearing loss and major depressive disorder).1,2,3

Chronic low back pain is associated with a significantly higher frequency of other musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain conditions. For example, people with back pain are also more likely to report mental health issues, such as depression (13% vs 6.1%), anxiety (8% vs 3.4%) and sleep disorders (10% vs 3.4%), compared to people without low back pain.4

The Health and Safety Executive estimates that back disorders accounted for around 2.8 million days out of the 6.9 million working days lost to work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Great Britain in 2018-19.5