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More than 1 in 4 with back pain suffer depression

7th October 2013 Print

Today marks the start of ‘Backcare Awareness Week' and new research from protection provider Friends Life has today revealed the impact that back pain can have on sufferers' psychological wellbeing.

The research into 2,000 people has revealed that 25% of those surveyed become depressed after suffering back pain. For some time clinical research has shown that a person is 3-4 times more likely to have depression if they have chronic low back pain, when compared to the general population. 70% of respondents also said the constant pain made them miserable and more than a quarter (26%) revealed that it made them stressed.
 
The research also laid bare the severe impact back pain can have on a sufferer's ability to work, with serious consequences for both workers and their employers. Overall over one in five (21%) back pain sufferers have taken time off work because of their condition and, of those who had taken time off, 39% had been off work for at least a month, with 6% having taken off at least a year. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures from 2011 highlight how widespread the condition is with musculoskeletal problems - which includes back pain - the cause of the most days off work in the UK, accounting for just over a quarter of all days lost, or 35 million days.
 
There is however steps those individuals and their employers can take in order to help sufferer's with the transition back to work, such as Functional Restoration Programmes (FRR). These rehabilitation programmes are designed to address a combination of physical and psychological factors which aim to increase physical functioning, improve pain-coping skills, promote the return to a productive lifestyle at home or at work, and limit the need for future interventions.
 
David Williams, Director of Group Protection at Friends Life said: "As our research shows, back pain can have a huge impact on sufferer's lives, sometimes psychologically.  Employers can play a key role in helping employees who have suffered back pain to cope with their condition and helping them back to work in a sustainable way.
 
"Group Income Protection providers can further support employers in getting employees back to work through providing access to rehabilitation services, too. What is most important is that sufferers of back pain are aware of the support that they can access to combat both the physical and psychological distress chronic back pain can cause."