Find out why upper and lower back pain are such common problems.

If you've ever had back pain, rest assured that you are in good company. Eighty percent of Americans will have back pain at least once in their lives, and after coughs and colds, back pain is the second most common reason for visiting the doctor. Worldwide, more than 25 million people suffer from back pain, according to the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Back pain can occur in any part of your back, but the lower back is the most common location — not surprising, considering that it supports much of your body weight. However, back pain can also occur in the mid- or upper back, can originate in other areas of your body, such as the groin, and can be due to a problem with your testicles or ovaries. Back pain is defined as acute or short-term when it lasts less than a month, but ongoing pain lasting more than three months is considered chronic back pain.

Why So Many People Get Back Pain

"Back pain is one of the most common forms of pain reported because, unlike a disease like high blood pressure, back pain is a symptom that can be based on many different causes," explains Stephen Hau Yan Kwok, FRCS, honorary clinical assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Hong Kong.

Although there are some differences between ethnic groups in terms of prevalence of back pain, the main differences are in terms of age and gender, says Dr. Kwok. "It is usually said that back pain affects females more than males, but this could be because of differences in pain perception, and this kind of pain cannot be well-quantified," he says.

The Causes of Back Pain

When you think about all the possible causes of back pain, it's no surprise that it affects so many people.

• Strained muscles and ligaments account for the majority of lower back problems.
• Structural problems such as damage to the disks, arthritis, osteoporosis, and curvature of the spine also cause back pain.

There are also numerous risk factors that can increase your odds of developing back pain:

• Having a stressful job
• Doing physically strenuous work
• Having a job that keeps you inactive
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Anxiety or depression

Then there are factors over which we have little to no control: Women are more likely to have back pain, particularly during pregnancy, and it becomes more common to develop lower back problems as you get older. "Men tend to have a lower prevalence of pain but present with more severe symptoms and tend to have more back pain related to physical activity," says Kwok. "With aging, you tend to get more back pain related to degenerative disease [the breakdown of the structures in the back, such as the bones and the disks that act as cushions between the bones], while in younger populations you tend to see more disease-related back pain such as back pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis."

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

There are a variety of treatments for back pain, but there is also a lot you can do to prevent yourself from joining the ranks of those who suffer from it. By keeping in good shape with regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight, your back will thank you by being able to better withstand the knocks and jolts of daily life, according to the Mayo Clinic. Learning how to stand, sit, and lift in a spine-friendly manner will also help you avoid lower back pain.

The other good news is that lower back pain rarely requires surgery and can usually be treated with over-the-counter pain relief and anti-inflammatory drugs as well as a couple of days of rest followed by moderate exercise. Treatments for more serious back pain range from alternative therapies such as acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic, to medications and, in serious cases, surgery.

New Hope for Back Pain Sufferers

Much research is ongoing in a range of fields to better understand the causes of back pain, what drugs best give relief to people with lower back pain, and the pros and cons of surgical versus non-surgical measures. Such research may bring relief to millions of people. "Spine problems are the most common reason why people of middle age have pain and disability," says Andrew Sherman, MD, head of medical rehabilitation at the Spine Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "We need to continue to search for better solutions because, although we have come up with newer techniques of treatments, we still have a large percentage of the population with spine problems who are still disabled."