Australian cricket commentator Michael Slater urged Australian lads to "man up" and deal with chronic back problems. Slater thinks that it is best to get diagnosed early for possible athritis of the spine.

The former Australian crikecter teamed up with Athritis Australia to raise awareness on various forms of athritis of the spine. Slater suffers from ankylosing spondylitis a severe spinal condition that affects three times as many men than women.

"For 20 years I've lived with brutal back pain, which at times felt like a knife was being run down my spine - it nearly cost me my cricketing career. If I didn't get the right help all those years ago, my condition would have fused my spine together and who knows where I would be today," Slater said.

According to Dr. Louis McGuiga of the Australian Rheumatology Association, Ankylosing spondylitis is a relatively uncommon form of back pain but it occurs in about 200,000 Australian males, much more commonly in males then in females. The condition comes on usually in the 20s and its inflammation rather than a degeneration in the back so that the back becomes inflamed, extremely painful and then gets very stiffed and deformed.

Slater said the awareness campaign, with Athritis Australia centers on urging men to have themselves checked up by their doctors, as soon as possible.

"It's really about urging men with chronic back problems, persistent back pain to 'man up' essentially and get in and get it checked out and protect their spines as best as they can. "

"You know personally I've had back pain and understand that it can be something a lot more serious than if blokes get checked out by their doctor asap they might actually receive a diagnosis and get on with their lives"

A new research released today by Arthritis Australia reveals the spinal health of Australian males is ricocheting into all aspects of their lives, challenging more than just their pain thresholds. Of the 2.3 million Australian men who were found to be suffering from persistent back pain, depression rates soared to double that of the general male population.

Additionally, one-in-four fathers are forced to be absent from playtime with their kids, and partners are left to cope with disrupted sleep and mood swings.

The impact on work life was found to be by far the most frustrating aspect for blokes living with back pain. Almost half (48%) report their career choices are limited and one-in-six had to change jobs, with two-thirds taking a pay cut because of their spinal torments.