London - Men are suffering back pain from an earlier age as fitness standards drop, experts warn.
Office jobs and lack of exercise mean many men do not have the core muscle strength to properly support their frames.
Chiropractors warn today that the number of patients they see for back pain is rising – and problems are starting at an earlier age.
Back pain first hits men at the age of 37 on average, the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) claims – significantly younger than in the past.
Tim Hutchful, a BCA chiropractor who runs a practice in Leicester, said: “We are seeing it happen maybe three or four years earlier than in years gone past.
“The mid-to-late-thirties group are not as active today. People who are in their sixties now had a much, much more active lifestyle when they were in their thirties than the current 30-year-olds.”
A survey of 2 100 British men, commissioned by the BCA, suggests that 82 percent live with regular neck or back pain. When they carried out a similar survey a year ago, the figure was 75 percent.
Mr Hutchful said: “People now have lifestyles when part of their life is very sedentary and then another part is manic.
“They might commute to work in their car, they sit on their backsides all day, then play five-a-side football once a week – and that is when the problems happen.”
He said that regular exercise – such as walking every day – would better protect people against injury when they are called upon to do unusual activities.
Moving heavy objects was the trigger for back pain in 47 percent of respondents. Women also suffer back pain but Mr Hutchful said men are worse at seeking help, often taking pills to deal with the issue instead.
Daily Mail