Back pain is one of the most common human disabilities.

Back pain makes you uncomfortable, interferes with sleep, and limits your ability to engage in the activities you enjoy. If it’s severe enough, it can actually have an impact on mortality. That’s the conclusion of researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine.

In their analysis of more than 81,000 cases, the overall mortality risk for those with back pain over a 5 to 25 year period was only 6% more than for those without. But for women, the risk of dying was 22% higher. And among those with severe back pain, the risk was 26% higher.

Individual episodes of back pain can come and go. That doesn’t mean the problem has been solved. Back pain can resurface, become consistent, or become much more severe. Take it seriously.

How to choose the best low back treatment

The era of “anatomy-based diagnosis” is on its way out. Determining exactly which spot hurts is less important than understanding how the dynamic functioning of the low back is out of balance. That’s why “treatment-based grouping” leads to improved outcomes.