Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of treating back pain in each of the last 10 years.

This information in is not collected. Whilst National Health Service programme budgeting data captures information within the category ‘problems of the musculoskeletal system’ spend on back pain is not identified. Some back pain treatment costs are captured through NHS reference costs data, but because the vast majority of back pain treatment activity is not inpatient care, these costs are do not reflect the total cost.