I’ve heard that being active is one way to prevent back pain. I’ve had one bout of back pain already. Is there any truth to this claim?

We don’t have a yes/no answer for you on this one. Many studies have been done on preventing back pain, what works and what doesn’t. There may be some factors linked with back pain that you don’t have control over.

For example, people over 65 may have an increased risk of back pain. According to one study, women are more likely to have disabling back pain five years after their first episode of back pain.

Activity level is part of the prevention equation. It’s just not clear what kind or how much is needed to stay healthy. A low level of physical activity does predict persistent disabling back pain one year after the first painful episode and again five years later.

It’s possible that more physically fit adults recover faster from back pain, too. Men who are physically active during leisure time seem to have less back pain and fewer symptoms than women.