Call to improve low back pain guidelines, as study predicts 50% increase by 2050
Clinical guidelines on back pain need to include recommendations for older people, say University of Sydney authors
The number of people experiencing low back pain in Australia is set to increase by 50% in just over 25 years, a University of Sydney study shows.
Researchers estimate there will be more than 800 million cases of low back pain globally in 2050, a 36% increase from 2020 with Australians particularly hard hit.
The increase in prevalence globally was largely driven by population increases and population ageing, according to the modelling based on the analysis of more than 30 years of data.
The Lancet Rheumatology study also dispelled the misconception that low back pain mostly affected adults of working age, with the condition more common among older people and with higher rates among women.
