The most common cause of back pain

Most people experience an episode of back pain during their lifetime.

This can affect a person's ability to participate in activities of daily living, physical activity and work.

Activities such as sitting, standing, bending and lifting often make back pain worse.

It is generally accepted that "good" posture is important for protecting the spine from injury, as well as for the prevention and treatment of back pain.

Read too What is a herniated disc? What are the symptoms?

Good posture is usually defined as sitting "straight", standing "tall and straight" and lifting with a squatting technique and "straight back".

Surprisingly, there is a lack of evidence for a strong link between "correct" posture and back pain.

A group of researchers from the portal science alert conducted several studies that investigated the relationship between posture and back pain.

The researchers were interested in whether "non-neutral" sitting or standing positions in a large adolescent population were associated with back pain. They found little evidence for this thesis.

Read too The right way to treat back pain 

These findings are consistent with systematic reviews that found no consistent differences in sitting or standing between adult populations with and without back pain.

People assume a number of different spinal positions, and no single position protects a person from back pain. People can feel pain in the back both in a sitting position and in an upright position.

Globally accepted occupational safety practices of “good” or safe back postures during lifting also lack evidence. This systematic review found no evidence that standing is associated with back pain or predictive of back pain.

The researchers' findings showed that people with back pain tend to follow good posture advice, but people who don't lift "well" don't have more back pain than they do.

Read too Your back hurts more and more. How to regenerate your spine in two minutes

Back pain can be the result of a sprain associated with an inappropriate, sudden, heavy or unusual load on the back, but it can also occur as a result of severe headaches when there is no injury.

The pain can be even more persistent if the person constantly worries about back pain or avoids certain activities, work and socializing.

Movement, exercise, certain physical activities and generally taking good care of your mental and physical health are important factors for spinal health.