Friends of the 26-year-old charged with killing the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare have said he was dealing with back issues that led to sometimes debilitating pain.. The idea that a back injury might disrupt a young man’s life is no surprise to doctors who treat people in pain every day.. “Their lives are just kind of turned upside down,” said Dr. Jacob Joseph, a neurosurgeon at University of Michigan Health specializing in spine injuries.. Roughly 16 million adults in the United States experience persistent back pain that gets in the way of daily activities. Back pain is among the most common medical problems in the country. It is also the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.. The suspect in the killing, Luigi Mangione, posted multiple times in a Reddit community dedicated to discussions about spondylolisthesis, a sometimes painful condition that occurs when a vertebra in the spine slips out of alignment. He wrote that his “spondy went bad” when he was 23 and said he had undergone spinal fusion surgery in July 2023. He also described other ongoing health issues, including brain fog.. Experts interviewed for this story spoke only broadly about back pain. The current status of Mr. Mangione’s health, including his back issues, is not clear.. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.. Thank you for your patience while we verify access.. Already a subscriber? Log in.. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
