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What to Do When Your Back Is in Pain
From an FDA article:
"During his 27 years as a hospital corpsman, Richard Mettetal lifted injured people and remained suspended by harness from helicopters for long periods. For the 54-year-old Thurmont, Md., resident, the legacy of those years of public service is chronic back pain that has plagued him since 1984.
"It's been so long now, I can't remember when I didn't feel the pain," Mettetal says. "And I'm so angry that I can't do all that I want because of it."
Work-related back pain is among the most common occupational disorders in the United States, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Cincinnati, Ohio. Delay in return to work remains an expensive component in the overall cost of back pain for workers' compensation claims, as well, the institute notes. And back pain is responsible for more loss of work time and increased medical expenses related to treatment than any other ailment, says Robert Shields, M.D., an osteopathic physician practicing general medicine in Plano, Texas.
"This is one of the most common problems I see in my medical practice," he says. "Low back pain strikes 8 out of 10 adults at some point in their lives."
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