Back pain is one of the most common ailments,  affecting 31 million Americans at  any given time and costing more than  $50-billion annually in medical expenses, according to the American Chiropractic Association.

But it’s also mostly  preventable, if you stay fit and avoid back-straining  activities, say medical experts. “Most people will have acute  low back pain due to muscular strain at some point in their lives,” says Dr. Daniel Birk, director of the Neurosurgery  Spine Center at Stony Brook Medicine.  Birk says the “biggest factor contributing to low back injuries  is leading an unhealthy lifestyle.”

Reduce  your chance of having spinal disease  by maintaining   a  healthy weight and diet, exercising and “avoiding smoking and traumatic injuries which can occur when under the influence  of drugs or alcohol,” says Birk.

Dr. Birk was featured in this edition of Newsday Healthlink. Read the entire back pain prevention article here.