Mumbai, Oct 15 (IANS): Most people in India ignore back pain when it is acute and seek medical help only when it is accompanied by some other form of chronic pain, says a study.

Popping a pain killer to cope with back pain may not be the best answer, as, like diabetes, back pain affects other parts of your body and becomes more and more severe with time, the researchers warned ahead of World Spine Day Oct 16.

"It is important to understand that back pain is a symptom of a medical condition," said Nithij Arenja from Qi Spine Clinic in Mumbai.

"Back pain can be a sign of a serious medical problem, although it may not be the underlying cause," Arenja added.

Using various segregation techniques, the researchers at the clinic analysed data from 7,968 patients from January 2012 to September 2014.

The researchers found that 56 percent patients had waited for almost one and a half months before taking action about their back pain.

While the worldwide trend is that 20 percent of back pain patients become chronic, in India, 56 percent patients are chronic even before they seek serious help, the findings showed.