This WHO fact sheet sets out the global scale of musculoskeletal conditions, problems affecting muscles, bones and joints, and how the WHO recommends health systems respond. It combines worldwide prevalence figures with the organisation’s strategic priorities for improving musculoskeletal care.
What was studied?
The fact sheet draws on global health data to quantify how many people live with musculoskeletal conditions worldwide, including low back pain specifically, and how much disability these conditions cause, alongside the WHO's rehabilitation strategy.
What did they find?
Around 1.71 billion people worldwide live with a musculoskeletal condition, the leading cause of disability globally. Low back pain alone affects an estimated 570 million people and accounts for 7.4 percent of all years lived with disability worldwide, with musculoskeletal conditions overall accounting for roughly 17 percent.
Why it matters
This gives real global context to a problem that can feel personal and isolated. Musculoskeletal pain is the leading cause of disability on the planet, and improving rehabilitation access is a genuine global priority.
Why we included it
It places this kind of work within a much larger picture: musculoskeletal pain is a leading global health burden, and evidence-based, non-surgical rehabilitation is treated internationally as a serious priority, not a niche option.
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What was studied?
The fact sheet draws on global health data to quantify how many people live with musculoskeletal conditions worldwide, including low back pain specifically, and how much disability these conditions cause, alongside the WHO's rehabilitation strategy.
What did they find?
Around 1.71 billion people worldwide live with a musculoskeletal condition, the leading cause of disability globally. Low back pain alone affects an estimated 570 million people and accounts for 7.4 percent of all years lived with disability worldwide, with musculoskeletal conditions overall accounting for roughly 17 percent.
Why it matters
This gives real global context to a problem that can feel personal and isolated. Musculoskeletal pain is the leading cause of disability on the planet, and improving rehabilitation access is a genuine global priority.
Why we included it
It places this kind of work within a much larger picture: musculoskeletal pain is a leading global health burden, and evidence-based, non-surgical rehabilitation is treated internationally as a serious priority, not a niche option.