Back Pain - Or NO BACK PAIN - Why Some Indigenous Cultures May Not Have Back Pain

In this article at NPR,

after experiencing massive back pain, a herniated disc, and experiencing back surgery - researcher Esther Gothale wondered why many primitive cultures lack the chronic back pain so common in American and other Western populations.

There are more details in the full article (link above) but the basic conclusions are that potbellies pull the lower spine inward, and a lack of exercise leads to weak muscles unable to hold the lower spine straighter.  As our obesity grows, our ability to run and jump and lift declines, and the cycle gets worse.  To combat the negative effects our sedentary lifestyles have on our spine, we should exercise more, eat less, sit at the computer/desk less, and work our lower back muscles more.  This can correct our misshaped S-shaped spines back to the J-shape depicted in statues from ancient cultures like Greece and Egypt, and still common in physically active (primitive) societies today.

If we heed this advice and work at it, we should be thinner, healthier, in less pain, and even a fraction of an inch taller - once our spine is straightened a little.  Or we can stay lazier, fatter, shorter, and have more pain.