Guwahati, Feb. 20 -- Sarah Wallwork, University of South Australia and Lorimer Moseley, University of South Australia

Back pain is common. One in thirteen people have it right now and worldwide a staggering 619 million people will have it this year.

Chronic pain, of which back pain is the most common, is the world's most disabling health problem. Its economic impact dwarfs other health conditions.

If you get back pain, how long will it take to go away? We scoured the scientific literature to find out. We found data on almost 20,000 people, from 95 different studies and split them into three groups:

acute - those with back pain that started less than six weeks ago

subacute - where it started between six and 12 weeks ago

chronic - whe...