Back Health Day on March 15, 2016: Back Republic of Germany – over 60 million days of absence per year

On Back Health Day on March 15th, the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) is publishing the first preliminary data from its annual health report. The current evaluation shows that back problems also caused high levels of absenteeism last year. Of the 15.4 days that TK-insured workers were on sick leave on average in 2015, almost ten percent (1.4 days) were due to back problems alone. Extrapolated to the over 43 million working people in the Federal Republic, this results in over 60 million days of absence.

Gudrun Ahlers, responsible for health reporting at TK: “For a medium-sized company with 150 employees, that’s 210 days of lost production per year. In other words: The company suffers damage equivalent to an annual salary just from back problems.”

According to TK, the main single diagnosis among back problems is the very unspecific diagnosis “back pain”, which alone accounts for half of the complaints, i.e. 0.8 days per person. In 2015, back pain ranked third among the main causes of sick leave, behind respiratory infections and depressive episodes.

Overall, women were on sick leave for an average of 17.2 days, three more days than men (13.9 days). They are more affected by almost all diagnoses than men. Back problems are one of the few illnesses that affect both sexes equally. In the case of back-related sick leave, women are on average a day longer off work than men (16.9 days), with a case duration of 18 days.

The TK Back Atlas, a previous study by the health insurance company, shows that there are clear differences between the sectors. “Work in the construction industry, professional drivers, nursing and cleaning staff in particular is associated with back problems to an above-average extent,” says the TK expert.

According to the TK, there are also clear regional differences: While people in Baden-Württemberg have the fewest back problems with 1.1 back-related days of absence per capita, working people in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are most affected with just under two days.

To prevent back pain, the TK recommends regular moderate exercise. “Just like unhealthy physical stress, lack of exercise is also a trigger for back problems,” says Ahlers.

In addition to the commitment to back health in company health management, it is important that patients receive good medical care in order to avoid lengthy and painful sick leave. TK boss Dr. Jens Baas therefore advocates more quality in medical care, but rejects long-term, rigid treatment programs: “In the case of back pain, the diagnosis is unspecific and the causes are varied. They affect a lot of people in very different ways. That’s why we need targeted offers that are individually tailored to patients.”