Back and neck pain are major health concerns for Americans. 96% of people taking the SpineUniverse survey agreed that it's a serious problem, one we should be thinking seriously about how to fix.

It's costly. $90 billion a year—that's how much back pain alone costs Americans, according to a recent report on NBC's Nightly News (you can watch the report here). At a time when we don't have a lot of extra money to go around, $90 billion is significant.

It's pervasive. 8 out of every 10 Americans will experience back or neck pain. You'll need to be either extremely lucky or extremely obsessed with your spine to be one of those 2 people who won't get back or neck pain.

So if it affects almost all of us and it costs a lot of money, shouldn't we do something about it?

We should.

But until the government swoops in to help or insurance companies radically change their business model—or the government swoops in and makes the insurance companies radically change by nationalizing them—back pain prevention is going to be a grassroots kind of effort.

You can do your part by:

• exercising
• not smoking
• eating a healthy, well-balanced diet
• following all the work tips given under Question 1
• getting regular medical check-ups
• paying attention to what your body is telling you: if you're in pain, go to the doctor

There, doesn't it feel good to be part of getting America's backs back on track?

Review the Questions:

• Question 1: What's causing our back pain?
• Question 2: How can we fix it?
• Question 3: Who should pay for it?