People with diabetes have a 35% higher risk of experiencing low back pain
and a 24% higher risk of having neck pain than those without diabetes,
a review by University of Sydney researchers has found. Their findings
were published in PLOS ONE.
Most adults experience low back
pain during their lives and almost
half suffer neck pain at some stage.
Diabetes is an increasingly prevalent
chronic condition; an estimated 382
million people live with type 2 diabetes,
the most common form of this
metabolic disease.
There was insufficient evidence
in the review to establish a causal
relationship between diabetes and
back or neck pain, the paper's senior
author Associate Professor Manuela
Ferreira from the University's Institute
of Bone and Joint Research said.
But the findings warrant further
investigation of the association.
“Type 2 diabetes and low back pain
both have a strong relationship with
obesity and lack of physical activity,
so a logical progression of this research
might be to examine these factors
in more detail. Our analysis adds
to the evidence that weight control
and physical activity play fundamental
roles in health maintenance.”
The paper also found diabetes medication
could influence pain, possibly
via its effect on blood glucose levels,
and this connection should also be
investigated. It also recommended
health care professionals consider
screening for unknown diabetes in
patients seeking care for neck or low
back pain.
“Neck and back pain, and diabetes,
are afflicting more and more people,”
said co-author and collaborator Associate
Professor Paulo Ferreira from
the Faculty of Health Sciences. “It's
worth committing more resources to
investigate their interrelationship. It
may be that altering treatment interventions
for diabetes could reduce
the incidence of back pain, and vice
versa.”
DIABETES Back & Neck Pain
Studies show a correlation,
but researchers need more data
to understand the relationship
between the disease and higher
incidence of back & neck pain.
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