While 90 percent of them will get in better in time, the chance of re-injury is eight times greater for those who have already suffered back pain, WEWS reports.

But there are ways to prevent this painful condition, which Dr. Mark Brown, an orthopedic surgeon, says is very common.

"It's second only to the common cold as a reason for lost time from work," Brown says.

Lili Neale understands. She did some heavy lifting one week, and then: "I just did the simple act of bending down to get Saran Wrap from a bottom cabinet in the kitchen," Neale says.

The pain was excruciating.

"It felt like someone is taking an ice pick and putting it right into the low back area," she says.

Brown says the biggest cause of back pain is being out of shape. He refers to a study of firefighters. Some stayed fit, others did not.

"The ones that took care of themselves had fewer attacks, less severe attacks and didn't have recurrent attacks of back pain," he says.

Physical therapist Dr. Ira Fiebert agrees that a lack of exercise contributes.

"They sit when they drive to work," Fiebert says. "They sit at work. They sit in traffic driving home. They sit at dinner. They sit on the couch, and then they go to sleep."

Brown put Neale on a stretching and strengthening routine. A rubber elastic band provides resistance, while arm lifts strengthen her back muscles. The goal is to build up an internal corset of muscles to protect her back.

Brown says that it's a good idea to avoid leaning. For example, pull your chair closer to your desk or dinner table to avoid having to reach so far.

"He says pretend you're at the beach, and you have a bikini on, and everybody is staring at your stomach," Neale says. "Hold it in. Suck it in like you want to have a flat ab."

"If you can change the bad posture, even ten to twenty percent a day, that's 10 to 20 percent less stress you're putting on your back than you were before," Brown says.

Neale now keeps her stomach pulled in all the time and she's even moved her computer keyboard up to avoid sitting. She's also careful when lifting even the little things.