Back pain and arthrosis in Finland

Abstract

Four Finnish interview surveys from the years 1964, 1968, 1976, and 1987 show a rapid increase in the occurrence of self-reported chronic musculoskeletal disorders. The expected number of such patients by the year 2000 will be one fifth more than in 1987 when the changes in the age structure of the population are taken into consideration. This would amount to 850,000 cases in the year 2000, the total population at that time being 5 million inhabitants. This would be a relative increase of 131 percent as compared with 1964. Half of the cases suffer from back disorders and one quarter from arthrosis. Musculoskeletal disorders now make up the most prevalent group of chronic diseases in the Finnish adult population.