Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health logoLink to Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
. 1996 Jun;50(3):347–352. doi: 10.1136/jech.50.3.347

Prevalence of low back pain in the community: implications for service provision in Bradford, UK.

M Hillman 1, A Wright 1, G Rajaratnam 1, A Tennant 1, M A Chamberlain 1
PMCID: PMC1060294  PMID: 8935469

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assist a purchasing district in the planning of services for low back pain by assessing the prevalence of symptoms and the current involvement of primary, secondary, and complementary care in the treatment of low back pain. In the light of these findings, to assess further the potential impact of a new system of open access to physical therapy, as recommended by the British Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG). DESIGN: A two-stage cross sectional survey approach using postal questionnaires. SUBJECTS: Altogether 1437 men and 1747 women aged 25-64 years, randomly selected from the family health services association register in Bradford. MAIN RESULTS: An annual incidence of 4.7% for low back pain was found, with lifetime, 12 month period, and point prevalences of 59%, 39%, and 19% respectively. Over a one year period, 50.3% of episodes were acute (< 2 weeks), 21% were subacute (2 weeks-3 months), and 26% were chronic (over 3 months) in duration. Altogether 17.8% of the population in this age range experienced referred pain, numbness, or tingling, and 6.4% took time off work as a result of low back pain. In the same year, 20% of the population in the same age range consulted no-one about their pain, 13.7% were treated at the primary care level, 4% received secondary care, and 3% visited a complementary therapist. One fifth of those who did not consult a professional experienced severe pain during episodes. Prevalence estimates indicate that an emphasis on early intervention and primary care management of simple low back pain as recommended by the CSAG could generate a 131% surge in demand for physical therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Local prevalence estimates may allow purchasers to estimate the potential effects of a shift in management policy for low back pain and to highlight areas of unmet need in terms of resources and patient education.

Full text

PDF
347

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bickler G., Sutton S. Inaccuracy of FHSA registers: help from electoral registers. BMJ. 1993 May 1;306(6886):1167–1167. doi: 10.1136/bmj.306.6886.1167. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Coste J., Delecoeuillerie G., Cohen de Lara A., Le Parc J. M., Paolaggi J. B. Clinical course and prognostic factors in acute low back pain: an inception cohort study in primary care practice. BMJ. 1994 Feb 26;308(6928):577–580. doi: 10.1136/bmj.308.6928.577. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Deyo R. A. Comparative validity of the sickness impact profile and shorter scales for functional assessment in low-back pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1986 Nov;11(9):951–954. doi: 10.1097/00007632-198611000-00017. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Frank A. Low back pain. BMJ. 1993 Apr 3;306(6882):901–909. doi: 10.1136/bmj.306.6882.901. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Helliwell P. S. Occupational rheumatology: are we using the wrong model? Br J Rheumatol. 1992 Feb;31(2):73–74. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/31.2.73. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Helliwell P. S., Wright V. Referrals to rheumatology. BMJ. 1991 Feb 9;302(6772):304–305. doi: 10.1136/bmj.302.6772.304. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Nachemson A. Work for all. For those with low back pain as well. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1983 Oct;(179):77–85. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Roland M., Morris R. A study of the natural history of back pain. Part I: development of a reliable and sensitive measure of disability in low-back pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1983 Mar;8(2):141–144. doi: 10.1097/00007632-198303000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Tennant A., Badley E. M. A confidence interval approach to investigating non-response bias and monitoring response to postal questionnaires. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1991 Mar;45(1):81–85. doi: 10.1136/jech.45.1.81. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Waddell G. 1987 Volvo award in clinical sciences. A new clinical model for the treatment of low-back pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1987 Sep;12(7):632–644. doi: 10.1097/00007632-198709000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Waddell G., Bircher M., Finlayson D., Main C. J. Symptoms and signs: physical disease or illness behaviour? Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Sep 22;289(6447):739–741. doi: 10.1136/bmj.289.6447.739. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Waddell G. Clinical assessment of lumbar impairment. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1987 Aug;(221):110–120. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Walsh K., Coggon D. Reproducibility of histories of low-back pain obtained by self-administered questionnaire. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1991 Sep;16(9):1075–1077. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199109000-00011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Walsh K., Cruddas M., Coggon D. Low back pain in eight areas of Britain. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1992 Jun;46(3):227–230. doi: 10.1136/jech.46.3.227. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES