Got a bad back? That could be a bad omen, says a study which found that back pain increases the risk of dying from any cause by 13 percent.

Back pain is extremely common, says the American Chiropractic Association, with as many as 80 percent of Americans having a back problem at some point in their life, and about half of all working Americans confessing they have some back pain every year.

The study, which was published in the European Journal of Pain, examined 4390 Danish twins over the age of 70 to discover whether spinal pain increased their risk of dying, either from all causes or specifically cardiovascular disease.

"Our study found that compared to those without spinal pain (back and neck), a person with spinal pain has a 13 per cent higher chance of dying every year. This is a significant finding as many people think that back pain is not life-threatening," said senior author Paulo Ferreira of the University of Sydney.

"As this study was done in twins, the influence of shared genetic factors is unlikely because it was controlled for in our analysis," Ferreira said.

While the study showed a clear link between back pain and mortality, the researchers don't understand why. "Spinal pain may be part of a pattern of poor health and poor functional ability, which increases mortality risk in the older population," he said.

"Policy makers should be aware that back pain is a serious issue — it is an indicator of people's poor health and should be screened for, particularly in the elderly."

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as ibuprofen (Advil) are commonly used to cope with back pain, but research from The George Institute for Global Health found they offer little benefit, but cause side effects.

A recent study by scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that yoga relieved low back pain. A review of 12 studies found that patients practicing yoga showed improvements in function as well as pain.

"Medications are mostly ineffective, surgery usually does not offer a good outcome — the best treatment for low back is a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity. People need to get moving," Ferreira said.