Back and neck pain: Overview
Pain in the back
Musculoskeletal low back pain is pain in the back between the bottom and the ribs (the lumbosacral area). Specific causes of back pain include sciatica, vertebral fracture, intra-abdominal pathologies and more rarely ankylosing spondylitis, cancer and infection. Non-specific low back pain is diagnosed when pain is not attributable to a specific cause.1
Sometimes the pain may be caused by an injury such as a sprain or strain or occasionally the pain may be due to a medical condition such as a slipped disc.2
In the UK, 2.6m new cases of low back pain occur each year.3
Non-specific neck pain is often multifactorial and causes include poor posture, neck strain, sporting and occupational activities, anxiety and depression.4 Non-specific neck pain is common and will usually resolve within a few weeks.4
Back pain is highly prevalent
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Globally, more than half a billion people had low back pain and more than a third of a billion had neck pain of more than 3 months duration.5
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11 million people in the UK experience low back pain in any given year and of these 6.5m will experience severe back pain.3
Around 1 in 5 workers with back pain take time off work for periods of 6 months or longer.3
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According to a global online survey of over 19,000 people across 32 countries, the back, neck and shoulders are the most common sites for regular body pain.6*
Women were more likely to suffer from regular back pain than men, and back pain is especially common amongst parents.6
*These data were derived from the Global Pain Index, a survey which asked people to self-define the pain they had experienced at any point in time.6
Back or neck pain can be disabling
Back and neck pain can negatively affect a person's day-to-day life7
Around 80% of people with back pain, lower back pain or neck pain report a significant impact of their pain on their day-to-day lives.7
Lower back pain is estimated as the most disabling condition in the world,8 and such body pain negatively impacts people’s mood and self-esteem, and makes people feel older than they are.
Meet Laura and Riya
Laura
Laura, 32, is an active mother who loves to take her children swimming.
Recently, she hurt her back and cannot do as much with her family as she used to. She is having difficulty bending, twisting and reaching, which makes caring for two young children even more challenging than ever.
Laura needs a solution that offers powerful and rapid relief from back pain.
She explains, “I want my back pain to go away, so I can get back to enjoying life!”
Riya
Riya, 48, works as a shop assistant in a large grocery store.
She spends most of her working day on her feet and has recently been experiencing aches and twinges in her back. She can’t afford to take time off work, but she is on medications for a couple of chronic conditions and is reluctant to take any more tablets.
Riya needs a non-medicated solution that offers effective pain relief and fast recovery from back pain.
“I’m on my feet a lot, so I need a treatment that can help me stay that way,” she describes.
Understanding back pain
Signs and symptoms
Explore an overview of how to recognise back pain and know when to refer patients.
Learn more
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Continuous Low-level Thermotherapy Heat Patches provide deep penetrating and widely distributed pain relieving heat for up to 8 hours for Back Pain or Neck Pain.
*40°C for 8 hours per day for at least 2 days.
