But if you have back pain for more than three months, you may find it more difficult to recover. If you've taken time off work, you might find it more difficult to return.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Waddell G.
The clinical course of low back pain.
In: Waddell G. The back pain revolution. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, UK; 1998.

 

 

 

 

 

² And, if you've been off work for more than two years, then you may have become seriously disabled.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Andersson GBJ.
Epidemiological features of chronic low-back pain.
Lancet. 1999; 354: 581-585.

 

 

 

 

 

³

This is why doctors think it's important to prevent your back pain becoming long-term (chronic). Researchers now think the best way to do this is to stay active because it means you are more likely to get back to work.

One study found that people with back pain tended to get better more quickly if they had positive expectations about recovering.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Iles RA, Davidson M, Taylor NF, et al.
Systematic review of the ability of recovery expectations to predict outcomes in non-chronic non-specific low back pain.
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2009; 19(1): 25-40.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴ Of course, it may simply be that people who had less serious back problems to start with felt they were more likely to recover.

Having constant back pain can make you feel depressed or irritable. You may feel tired, lose your appetite, and lose weight.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Jenner JR, Barry M.
ABC of rheumatology: low back pain.
BMJ. 1995; 310: 929-932.

 

 

 

 

 

⁵ This can make it more difficult to get back to work or to your usual activities.

If your back pain is getting you down, talk to your doctor about it. Feeling depressed can affect how you respond to treatment and how soon you get back to your normal activities. Your doctor may be able to reassure you that nothing is seriously wrong and that the best thing you can do is to stay active. You can also get advice from your doctor about how to take care of your back.

If you want to read more about how your illness might be affecting your mood, see Feeling depressed.

Once your back pain gets better, there is a chance that you'll get more bouts of backache. As many as 8 in 10 people who have had back pain will get it again within a year, although it may be less severe second time around.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Frymoyer JW.
Back pain and sciatica.
New England Journal of Medicine. 1988; 318: 291-300.

 

 

 

 

 

⁶

Your job can also affect whether you get back pain again. You are most likely to get repeated bouts if you are a nurse, or if your job involves a lot of driving.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Andersson GBJ.
Epidemiological features of chronic low-back pain.
Lancet. 1999; 354: 581-585.

 

 

 

 

 

³ Drivers are at risk because sitting down all day can squash and damage the disks in your lower back and weaken supporting muscles. Nurses are at risk because their job involves a lot of bending as they move and lift their patients.

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