Low back pain is one of the most common health problems and affects 80–85% of people over their lifetime [1]. In high-income countries, low back pain is the most frequent occupational problem, with an estimated 2–5% of people having chronic low back pain, many of whom are permanently debilitated as a result [2]. It is also the most frequent activity-limiting complaint in the young and middle aged and the second leading cause of sick leave [3].
The impact from low back pain is multi-factorial, and includes pain and activity limitations, as well as broader impacts such as participation restrictions, carer burden, use of health-care resources and financial burden. The financial burden alone is enormous and includes the costs of medical care, indemnity payment, productivity loss, employee retraining, administrative expenses and litigation [4], [5] and [6]. For example, low back pain was found to be one of the most expensive diseases in Australia, with an estimated cost in 2001 of $9.17 billion [7].
Because low back pain is rarely fatal, unlike infectious and cardiovascular diseases or cancer, it is often seen as a trivial problem [8]. With epidemiological evidence that severe low back pain increases into old age [8], and suggestions of an increasing prevalence in adolescence [9] and [10], it is imperative that low back pain be appropriately prioritised to ensure adequate allocation of health expenditure to address this growing public health problem, particularly with a view to developing preventive strategies. Demonstrating the impact from low back pain is the first step in this process.