Acute, Chronic Back Pain Linked to Higher Suicide Risk

Certain workplace injuries can result in severe and chronic back pain that can last for years, severely debilitating the worker, and leading to emotional trauma. Not surprisingly, a new study finds that persons who suffer from severe and chronic back pain may be at a much higher risk of suicide.

The association between back pain and increased risk of suicide was recently made by a team of researchers, who tracked persons who suffered from severe back pain for three years to see whether there was an increased risk of suicide. They found an increased risk of suicide, especially in cases involving chronic back pain, migraines and psychogenic pain.

It’s not hard to make the association between chronic back pain and a much higher risk of committing suicide. A person who suffers from such back pain and has tried a lot of medications and surgery for the improvement of his condition with no successis likely to feel hopeless. Chronic back pain can be extremely debilitating, and the person may find it difficult to perform any of his routine activities. The back pain can severely impact his ability to lead a normal life, his physical fitness levels, and his social as well as family lives.

All of this can severely impact a person’s mental and emotional frame of mind until a person starts to believe that life is simply not worth living anymore. Doctors who treat persons who suffer from severe and chronic back pain must evaluate their risk of suicide, and must look out for symptoms of clinical depression or any other psychiatric disorder that can predict a suicide risk. These risks should be discussed with family members of the patient.