Background: Nonspecific low back pain (LBP) is very common and the economic impact of absenteeism has not been completely established in Spain.
Material and method: We have valued LBP and the cost of worker's compensation in Spain with the available information between 1993-1997.
Results: The mean LBP was 55,388 per year (SD 9,230.1). The transitory LBP disability was 21.9 days, with a range between 19.7 and 24.2 days. The total cost of worker's compensation LBP claims was 11,000 million pesetas/year, and the mean cost by worker was 209,666 pesetas/year.
Conclusions: The worker's compensation LBP claims was higher in Spain that in the European Union.