Back pain is such a common condition that many doctors and researchers consider the complaint a normal part of life, similar to having an occasional cold or flu. If you are a back pain sufferer, you are not alone:

• Back pain affects more than 80 percent of the population at some time during their lifetime.
• Back pain is second only to the common cold as a reason for visits to the doctor and it is second only to childbirth as a reason for hospitalization.
• Approximately 50 percent of the working population reports back problems every year.
• The total medical...