BODY WATCH : Good Fitness May Prevent Back Pain

Back pain is part of the human condition, accounting for more visits to the doctor than any other ailment besides colds.

Virtually all Americans will have an episode of low-back trouble at some time during their lives, and in any given year 50% of all working-age adults have low-back pain, the Public Health Service says.

But is back trouble really inevitable? Physicians and chiropractors who treat back-pain patients say it doesn’t have to be. They say that with good conditioning, particularly of the abdominal muscles that support the back, people should be able to avoid back pain.

Like a heart attack, back pain often stems from a longstanding disregard of good health practices. Chiropractor Louis Sportelli, a spokesman for the American Chiropractic Assn., sounds a warning for people who are overweight, out of condition and under stress.

Dr. Garth Russell, an orthopedist and senior surgeon at the Columbia (Mo.) Spine Center, says “the back, mechanically, is one of the weakest parts of the body,” and people have to be smarter about using it, always practicing “good mechanics that do not subject the back to abnormal stress.”

When the body is out of shape, it takes little to strain muscles or tear ligaments, sending muscles into painful spasms. The spasms immobilize muscles over the injured area and are thought to protect it from further damage.

But beyond physical conditioning, there is a component to back pain that is getting more attention lately. Physicians see emotional stress as an ingredient that sets up the back for injury.

When back pain occurs, physicians now recommend only a couple of days of rest along with pain medication. Unless there are signs of dangerous conditions, such as loss of bladder control, people are advised to gradually return to normal activities.