Ask your grandparents to stay fit and keep their body moving even in old age, as a study warns people over 70, suffering from back pain, are at 13 percent increased risk of dying from any cause.
Researchers from the University of Sydney reached their conclusions after studying death rates in 4,390 twins aged over 70, as reported by the Mirror.
"Many people think back pain isn't life-threatening," said Dr Paulo Ferreira.
Studying twins allowed the researchers to rule out shared genetic factors.
If one of a pair of twins died early, inherited genes were unlikely to be the cause.
"There is a clear link between back pain and mortality, we don't know yet why," Dr Ferreira added.
"Spinal pain may be part of a pattern of poor health, which increases mortality risk in the older population," Dr Ferreira explained.
The researchers stated that commonly prescribed painkillers were not effective at treating back pain and recommended a healthy lifestyle.
He added: "People need to get moving."
Back pain is the number one cause of disability and accounts for a fifth of the UK's health expenditure, according to the National Pain Audit.
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