Response to: 'Overweight/obesity and vitamin D deficiency contribute to the global burden of low back pain' by Professor Grant

We would like to thank William B Grant for his letter1 on our paper ‘The global burden of low back pain: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study’.2 We fully agree with Professor Grant on the enormous potential that population-wide interventions have for reducing the global burden of low back pain. While more research is needed, the evidence base for several population-based interventions is already well established. For example, globally, and in low-income and middle-income countries in particular, population-based strategies that increase physical activity and reduce obesity are likely to have a substantial effect in mitigating the burden of low back pain. For this to happen, global agencies need to be open to the integration of musculoskeletal health in their programmes, particularly those focusing on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. Inclusion of musculoskeletal health will likely also...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - Category: Rheumatology Authors: Tags: Electronic pages Source Type: research