Key Facts:
- A new survey of 1,040 Australian adults reveals that 83.3% of Australians aged 61 and over have experienced back pain in the last 12 months, with 48.3% suffering chronic pain lasting three months or more — the highest rate of any age group.
- Older Australians face significant physical and functional burdens, with 42.5% reporting reduced mobility due to back pain — nearly 70% higher than the national average — alongside elevated rates of sleep disruption and loss of independence.
- The mental health toll is pronounced, particularly among those aged 61–70, where 17.3% report depression or anxiety directly linked to back pain, rising to 18.6% among women in that age group, with 30.3% of all seniors reporting a moderate-to-extreme mental health impact.
- Seniors record the highest daily pain medication use of any age group, with 15.7% using over-the-counter medication and 14.7% using prescription medication daily, despite clinical evidence questioning the effectiveness of commonly used medications for back pain.
- Research from CQUniversity found that exercise-based and biopsychosocial approaches to treatment can reduce depression and anxiety, improve functional capacity, and enhance quality of life in older adults, consistent with WHO 2023 guidelines endorsing spinal manipulation and active care over bed rest.
Seniors Carry Australia’s Heaviest Back Pain Burden:
A Rising Mental Health Toll as Chronic Pain Takes Hold
National Spinal Health Month: Week 4: 22–30 June 2026 A Healthy Spine Supports A Healthy Mind
TODAY, in the final week of National Spinal Health Month, the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) revealed that older Australians are carrying the nation’s heaviest back pain burden, with seniors recording the highest rates of chronic pain of any age group and a burden that for most, impacts their daily life.
According to new data obtained from the 2026 Australian Spinal Health Survey (May 2026), an independent national survey of 1,040 Australian adults by Pureprofile revealed that 87.3% of Australians aged 61 and over have experienced back pain in their lifetime, with 83.3% reporting back pain in the past 12 months.
Among senior back pain sufferers, almost half (48.3%) reported chronic pain lasting three months or more – the highest chronic pain rate of any age group surveyed.
ACA President Dr Billy Chow said, “The survey reveals that for most older Australians, back pain is not a temporary complaint that will resolve on its own – it is a persistent, long-term condition that impacts their lives.
“Only 16.5% of seniors with low back pain reported that their condition has fully resolved, the lowest resolution rate of any age group, while among Australians aged 81 and over, chronic pain reaches 56.8% – the highest of any group in the survey.
“Coexisting back pain and mental health conditions are associated with impaired quality of life, however for seniors the burden is most strongly expressed through chronic pain, reduced mobility, sleep disruption and a progressive loss of independence, all compounding sufferers’ overall health and wellbeing,” said Dr Chow.
The survey found that reduced mobility is a defining burden for older Australians, with 42.5% of seniors reporting they are less physically mobile due to back pain – significantly higher than the 25.3% recorded across all back pain sufferers, while 29.5% of seniors reported loss of sleep compared to 23.1% of all sufferers.
“Loss of mobility and disrupted sleep in older age can impact independence, social participation, and mental wellbeing because when back pain limits a person’s ability to move freely, it can accelerate functional decline and increase isolation,” Dr Chow said.
“The data tells us that the retirement years are a critical point for the mental health of older Australians suffering back pain because when it develops into a chronic condition, depression and anxiety rise,” he said.
The mental health toll is most pronounced in early senior years with Australians aged 61–70, 17.3% reporting depression or anxiety as a direct result of back pain that climbs to 18.6% among women in this age group – one of the highest depression and anxiety rates of any age band surveyed, coinciding with the time of life when chronic pain accelerates sharply into the senior years.
Although seniors reported lower rates of anxiety, stress and depression than younger Australians, 30.3% reported a moderate-to-extreme mental health impact which may understate the true psychological toll.
“For older Australians, pain-related depression is associated with social withdrawal, reduced motivation and accelerated functional decline.”
“High chronicity, mobility loss, sleep disruption and the impact on quality-of-life, all point to a long-term, pervasive burden that may be normalised or under-reported with age,” said Dr Chow.
The link between chronic back pain and mental ill-health has been recorded in numerous research studies, including by the International Association for the Study of Pain (2021) that found people living with chronic back pain are at heightened risk of experiencing mental health problems.
“When chronic back pain leads to psychological and social problems, depressive symptoms can worsen back pain and increase the disability associated with the condition, which can then exacerbate back pain’s negative impact on the mental health of sufferers,” he said.
Of concern is the high reliance on pain medication among older Australians who recorded the highest daily medication use of any group, with 15.7% using over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication daily and 14.7% using prescription medication daily despite clinical evidence questioning the effectiveness of the most commonly used medications for back pain.
The survey also found that older Australians are the nation’s most engaged chiropractic patients, with 49.8% of seniors having consulted a chiropractor – the highest consultation rate of any age group.
Among all who had consulted a chiropractor for back pain, 77.3% reported improvement, 39.2% said their pain had significantly improved or was totally resolved, while 10.1% reported additional mental health and wellbeing benefits beyond pain relief after treatment.
“Preventing and managing chronic back pain that improves function and quality of life represents a significant clinical outcome that supports improved mental health and independence in healthy ageing,” said Dr Chow.
‘Fear avoidance’ by restricting or avoiding movement out of fear of pain or re-injury is particularly prevalent among older Australians, with 55% of ACA member chiropractors reporting that the majority of their senior patients exhibit fear avoidance behaviour – the highest of any age group.
“Restricting movement out of fear compounds physical deconditioning and exacerbates pain conditions, reinforcing the importance of remaining active and seeking professionally guided healthcare through an integrated approach to clinical treatment,” Dr Chow said.
The ACA’s recently released feasibility study through CQUniversity and Macquarie University’s MindSpot reinforced the value of the integrated biopsychosocial model approach to back pain treatments, demonstrating that combining online psychologically informed pain management with routine musculoskeletal healthcare can lead to improved physical and psychological outcomes.
“These findings are consistent with ACA-funded clinical research conducted at CQUniversity by Associate Professor Katie de Luca, whose landmark Back Complaints in the Elderly: Chiropractic – Australia (BACE:C-A) study investigated the clinical course and predictors of disability in older adults with low back pain.
The research found that quality of life, comorbid chronic health conditions and lower limb pain all have detrimental effects on the overall health and wellbeing of older adults, with chronic primary low back pain associated with loss of mobility, frailty, falls, poor sleep, and moderate-to-severe disability.
A/Prof de Luca’s research found strong evidence that depressive symptoms are associated with a heightened risk of future back pain onset, and that older people with chronic primary low back pain experience significantly greater declines in cognitive areas such as memory, attention and processing speed than those without it.
Encouragingly, A/Prof de Luca’s COMEBACK study which assessed adapted exercise for older people with back pain and comorbid conditions, found participants achieved an increase in functional capacity and aerobic stamina, a decrease in depression and anxiety, and reduced frailty – all leading to an improvement in reported quality of life which are consistent with the conservative, active-care approach endorsed in the WHO’s 2023 guidelines including spinal manipulation and warn against bed rest.
“A/Prof de Luca’s research shows that seniors are significantly burdened by spinal conditions and a range of additional negative implications, including a decline in mental and cognitive health that can be effectively treated with evidence-based healthcare to restore function, reduce depression and anxiety, and improve the quality of life and overall wellbeing of older Australians living with back pain,” said Dr Chow.
“A healthy spine supports a healthy mind at every stage of life, and we encourage seniors, their families and carers not to dismiss back pain as an inevitable part of ageing, but to maintain mobility, manage fear avoidance, and access evidence-based healthcare, to improve the quality of life of older Australians,” he said.
Spinal health is critically linked to healthy ageing so during Week 4 of National Spinal Health Month (22–30 June), the ACA is encouraging older Australians, their families and carers to prioritise their spinal health and seek evidence-based, drug-free chiropractic healthcare to help maintain mobility, minimise the impact of back pain on their mental health and support independent, healthy ageing.
Older Australians are encouraged to access free spinal health resources, practical guides and information at www.spinalhealth.org.au to improve their spinal health and overall wellbeing.
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