The Back Facts
The social and economic costs of back pain are enormous.

Back injuries and back pain:
• constitute a $45 billion industry.
• are the most common workers' compensation injury.
• are the leading reason for disability for people under the age of 45.
• will strike 90 percent of all North American adults.
• are the second-leading cause for surgery.

Further statistics about back pain:
• Up to 85 percent of the US population will have back pain at some time in their life.
• On any given day, 6.5 million people are in bed because of back pain.
• 5.4 million Americans are disabled annually due to back pain.
• An estimated 93 million work days are lost each year due to back pain.
• 5 - 10 percent of low back pain becomes chronic.
• Only 20 percent of all back surgeries are successful after two years.
• In the US, close to 500,000 spine surgeries are done every year.
• An estimated $45 - $54 billion is spent treating low back pain per year.