Some advice to prevent back pain includes practicing good posture when you stand or sit, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, exercising to keep your back and abdomen strong and flexible, and taking steps to reduce stress on your back.

Dr. Ronald Tolchin, Medical Director of the Baptist Health Center for Spine Care, says it is important to maintain a healthy weight, because the spine has a certain capacity. He points out if we have too much weight on it, it starts to interfere with the capacity of the spine to maintain it.