4-9

4-9. Back pain prevalence

An estimated one in six (16.4%, age standardised) of the population in South Australia is living with back problems (dorsopathies) which has lasted, or is expected to last, six months or longer¹.
This measure includes sciatica, disc disorders, curvature of the spine and other back pain/problems¹.
The South Australian rate is higher than the Australian average (15.7%, age standardised)¹.

**Living with long-term back problems (all ages), 2017–18 (age-standardised)**
State/Territory	%
New South Wales	13.9%
Northern Territory	14.0%
Queensland	16.2%
South Australia	16.4%
Victoria	16.4%
Australian Capital Territory	16.6%
Tasmania	16.9%
Western Australia	17.2%
Australia	15.7%

4-9-1

Data source: ABS 2018

An estimated one in six (15.6%) of the Aboriginal population in South Australia is living with back problems (dorsopathies) which has lasted, or is expected to last, six months or longer¹.
This measure includes sciatica, disc disorders, curvature of the spine and other back pain/problems¹.
The South Australian rate for Aboriginal people is higher than the Australian average for Aboriginal people (12.6%)¹.
The South Australian prevalance of long-term back problems among Aboriginal people in South Australia is similar to the all-person rate (16.4%, age standardised) reported in 4-9-1 above^{1 2}.

**Living with long-term back problems - Aboriginal people (all ages), 2018–19 (crude rates)**
State/Territory	%
Northern Territory	6.1%
Western Australia	11.0%
Queensland	11.1%
New South Wales	13.6%
South Australia	15.6%
Victoria	16.8%
Australian Capital Territory	19.5%
Tasmania	21.5%
Australia	12.6%

4-9-2

Data source: ABS 2019

Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2018), ‘Table 2.3 Summary health characteristics — States and territories, Proportion of persons’, National Health Survey: First Results, 2017-18, cat. no. 4364.0.55.001, 12 December 2018.
Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2019), 'Table 3.3 Selected health characteristics, by State/Territory, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons, 2018–19, Proportion of persons,' National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2018-19, cat. no. 4715.0, 11 December 2019.