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What Is Back Pain?

Most people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives.

Human spinal column is an extraordinary mechanism, providing the stability we use to stand upright and the flexibility we need for active movement. The spine, also known as backbone, is actually a stack of 24 individual bones called vertebrae. A healthy spine is S-shaped when viewed from the side, curving back at the shoulders and inward at the neck and small of the back. Spine houses the spinal cord-the intricate sensory network that runs through the vertebrae to transmit feeling and control movement throughout the entire body.

The main reason we suffer from back problems is that we are increasingly becoming sedentary creatures. The upright posture is designed for walking. Today, a high proportion of people spend the better part of their working day sitting at desks, at work stations, or in cars and trucks. These changes in human behavior have had a profound-and largely negative- impact on human physiology.

Women are very vulnerable to back pain. Childbearing and child rearing put a heavy load on women's backs. During the last two trimesters of pregnancy, the fetus can shift the center of gravity of women's back. This alters the curve of their spine, resulting in back pain. Soon after pregnancy and when children are toddlers, women experience back pain from bending and lifting. Women have two-thirds the muscle mass as compared to men of same size. This means that women need more muscle power to do the same work. We generally do not think about the implication of what we routinely do. Most of us are careful when we lift weights or heavy objects. But we won't think of much when we pick up a toddler and a 10-pound bag of groceries while still carrying a briefcase crammed with books and papers. (Add up the weight.) This puts severe strain on the back-muscles.