One in four people suffering from back pain have reported feeling depressed as a result of their condition, research has found.
A Friends Life survey of 2,000 people, carried out to mark ‘Backcare Awareness Week; has revealed that a quarter (25%) of those surveyed become depressed after suffering back pain.
Clinical research had previously shown a person is 3-4 times more likely to have depression if they have chronic low back pain, when compared to the general population.
Seven in ten (70%) of respondents also said the constant pain made them miserable and more than a quarter (26%) revealed that it made them stressed.
The research also emphasised the severe impact back pain can have on a sufferer's ability to work, with serious consequences for both workers and their employers.
Overall over one in five (21%) back pain sufferers have taken time off work because of their condition and, of those who had taken time off, almost two-fifths (39%) had been off work for at least a month, with 6% having taken off at least a year.
David Williams, director of group protection at Friends Life said: "As our research shows, back pain can have a huge impact on sufferer's lives, sometimes psychologically. Employers can play a key role in helping employees who have suffered back pain to cope with their condition and helping them back to work in a sustainable way.
"Group Income Protection providers can further support employers in getting employees back to work through providing access to rehabilitation services, too. What is most important is that sufferers of back pain are aware of the support that they can access to combat both the physical and psychological distress chronic back pain can cause."
