UK GOVERNMENT STATISTICS - THE BACK PAIN EPIDEMIC

STAGGERING DISC DEGENERATION EPIDEMIC FIGURES

 

1) 40% of 40-year-olds have at least one degenerated disc

2) 90% of 60-year-olds have signs of disc degeneration 

3) 31,000,000 lost working days per annum 


WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION STATISTICS 

LOW BACK PAIN

1) - affects 619 million people worldwide

2) - expected to increase to 843 million by 2050

3) - the single biggest cause of disability in the world 

INCIDENCE OF LOW BACK PAIN

- Age 18 to 29 - 28.4%

- Age 30 to 44 - 35.2%

- Age 45 to 64 - 44.3%

- over 65 - 45.6%


 

THE BEDREST FALICY DEBUNKED

According to the Harvard School of Medicine the old remedy of 6 to 12 weeks bedrest for low back pain and sciatica that was regularly prescribed until recently had little or no physical benefit and had a negative effect on mental health.

Why?

Discs need to metabolise to heal up and to metabolise they need to absorb nutrients when in a non-weight bearing position (lying down) and to squeeze out waste metabolites in a weight bearing position.

Prolonged bed rest clogs up and disrupts disc metabolism.

Intermittent rest and activity is the best way to stimulate disc recovery.


8 HOURS SLEEP?

Research by historian Roger Ekrich of Virginia Teck suggests that 2 blocks of 4 hours sleep used to be the norm and that this only evolved into an 8-hour block in the 1920’s.

Two blocks of 4 hours sleep with a weight bearing period in the middle would have helped disc health by allowing 2 metabolic cycles in 24 hours rather than the 1 that is now the norm.