New research suggests chronic back pain is linked to evolution

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – If your lower back gives you trouble, the reason why might be surprising: you may have a spine that’s more like a chimp than a human.

In fact, some people’s backs are virtually indistinguishable from chimps, which could indicate that walking on two feet – rather than all fours – is the source of chronic pain.

Head researcher Kimberley Plomp says your genetics are likely more of a factor than your lifestyle in determining whether you have chronic back pain.

“Two individuals could be doing the same activities, but one person might get back problems while the other won’t, and we think that might have something to do with the vertebrae and how that’s evolved.”

“The frequency of spine problems that we see in archaeology seems to be very similar to modern day and that indicates – at least to me – that it’s not something like smoking that we’re doing that’s changed,” she adds.

Plomp stresses that while we share 98 per cent of our DNA with chimpanzees, they aren’t a direct relative, and that scientists are still searching for the primate that directly links humans to monkeys.

She adds the next step in her study is coming up with a remedy for chronic back pain using the findings of her research.

(Story by Lauren Sundstrom)

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