Sex - Who Develops Back Problems: Back Pain

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Sex

Studies suggest that men and women are equally plagued by back pain. However, in Western industrialized societies, men are more apt to have disk problems, and they are more likely to be treated surgically. These differences most likely reflect the fact that a greater number of men than women work in jobs that involve heavy lifting, pushing, and pulling, and that men in such jobs often feel the need to return to work as soon as possible following an absence due to back pain.

Some studies suggest that men are three times more likely to develop ankylosing spondylitis, a severe but uncommon form of inflammatory arthritis that affects the spine (see "Arthritis"). Other studies, however, have found that this condition afflicts men and women in equal numbers. Women are often less severely affected, and so not diagnosed as often.

On the other hand, osteoporosis (loss of bone density and strength) occurs in women more often than men. This disorder can cause severe weakening of vertebrae and may eventually lead to vertebral fractures. Vertebral fractures can cause a loss of height and, more serious, a rounding of the back, commonly known as dowager's hump. They can also be very painful. Women are also especially susceptible to degenerative arthritis of the lower spine (a condition that generally involves the vertebral joints). They may also develop spondylolisthesis (an abnormal forward displacement of a vertebra relative to the one below it).

Last updated:	January 23, 2007