Prevalence of spinal disorders and their relationships with age and gender

OBJECTIVES: To establish the period prevalence of spinal disorders referred to physical therapy in a university hospital over a 3-year period, and to determine the relationships of common spinal disorders with patients’ age and gender. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted in the Physical Therapy Department, King Fahd Hospital of the University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Computer data of all new electronic referrals from January 2011 to December 2013 were retrieved and reviewed. The computer data included demographic information, referring facility, and diagnosis/disorder. RESULTS: One thousand six hundred and sixty-nine (28.1%) of all referred patients (5929) had spinal disorders. The most common disorders affected the lumbar spine (53.1%) and cervical spine (27.1%), and pain was the most common disorder. Neck pain (60.5%) was more common in patients <30 years old (p<0.001). Cervical spondylosis was common (~30%) in the >30 age groups. Spondylosis and low back pain were more prevalent in women (7.8% and 76.2%) than in men (73.9% and 3.3%). CONCLUSION: Spinal disorders were common compared with other disorders. Low back pain and neck pain were the most common spinal disorders. Age and gender were weakly related to some of the disorders that affected the lumbar and cervical spine.