Most people will experience some back trouble at some time in their lives. Most back pain is caused not by serious damage or disease but by everyday sprains, strains and minor injuries. The majority of back pain will correct itself over a short period of time, but for some people it is an ongoing, chronic complaint leading to lengthy periods of disability.
Whilst the incidence and prevalence of back pain seems to be fairly constant, the resultant disability in industrialised societies has increased exponentially since the middle of the 20th century. The evidence suggests that this increase in disability is driven by complex psychosocial and cultural factors rather than physical factors. This, in turn, has led to the adoption of a biopsychosocial model to aid our understanding of the phenomenon.
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