Study finds alarming increase in incidence of back pain in young adults

Research by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) says almost half of those in the 16 to 24-year age were living with neck or back pain.

According to figures from last year, 28 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds suffered back pain.

The rise in back problems in young people was being attributed to the fact that increasingly young people sat at their desks for longer and were doing less exercise.

The BCA claimed that on average, people spent 10 hours sitting and fewer than two hours being active.

It said each day people spent 1.8 hours on their phones and tablets, 3.7 hours on their laptops and computers and 1.4 hours gaming.

According to chiropractor Tim Hutchful, one was seeing a rise in the number of people experiencing back and neck-related problems due to modern lifestyle, which was forcing them to stay seated, with the number of patients below 30  increasing.

According to Hutchful's colleague and fellow BCA chiropractor Rishi Loatey the only sort of neck pain that used to be seen in that age group was people who had been in car accidents. But now the vast majority of neck pains were reported by people from secondary school upwards.

He added, a large number of his patients were IT consultants who came in with neck and arm pain.

He added people spent 8 to 10 hours on their computers, went to and from work looking at their phones and then when they got home they were social surfing.

The BCA found that on an average day, Britons spent around two hours sitting and looking at mobile technology, almost four hours looking at a laptop or desktop computer and almost three hours watching TV and films.

The BCA survey found that across age groups 86 per cent of the 2,000 people questioned said back and neck pain was a problem, a rise of nine points from the 77 per cent last year.