HURTING THE YOUNG

ONCE CONSIDERED AN OLD-AGE AFFLICTION, BACK PAIN IS NOW STRIKING EARLY. BUT NEW, LESS INVASIVE THERAPIES OFFER HOPE

- BY SONALI ACHARJEE

At 29, Rohan Mehta never imagined he would be dealing with a slipped disc, a condition associated with middle age.

A budding DJ in Delhi, he had dismissed his nagging backache as just usual postural strain, until an MRI revealed the reason behind weeks of sleepless nights and shooting pain that made even bending to tie his shoelaces impossible. A slipped disc, doctors told him, occurs when the soft cushion between two spinal bones bulges or ruptures, pressing painfully on nearby nerves. What unsettled Rohan most wasn't the diagnosis, but the realisation that his spine seemed to be ageing faster than he was.

Rohan's ordeal, experts say, reflects a wider trend. Chronic back and neck issues are now increasingly affecting younger adults. A 2025 study in Cureus: Journal of Medical Science, based on 16,866 patients across 18 states, found a sharp rise in back pain cases between 2020 and 2023, with the highest prevalence in the 18-38 age group—the very years of peak productivity. Another 2024 systematic review by the ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health, published in the Journal of Occupational Health, pooled studies from diverse sectors—agriculture, healthcare, mining, banking etc.—and found that 60 per cent of working-age Indians reported low back pain (also referred to as lower back pain) in the past year. Sedentary jobs, poor ergonomics and hours spent hunched over screens are fuelling the surge.