Susie was always active. In fact, she almost drove her parents crazy because she was involved with so many extracurricular activities as a teen. Swimming, gymnastics, dancing and cheerleading were her life during junior high and high school. She even continued with an aerobics class during college. When she graduated, she moved to Chicago and took a job with a big insurance agency, processing accounts.

Susie was busy, but she managed to get to the health spa at least three times a week and walk to the office whenever the weather permitted. After she and Mark married, however, the exercise routine became more difficult. Something always interfered with her exercise time. Once they moved to the suburbs and she became pregnant, exercise seemed impossible.

Now 32, Susie is miserable! Her back hurts all the time. She has gained 14 pounds since she married. Keeping up with a six-year-old and a two-year-old is exhausting, and she spends most days cleaning, cooking or running errands in her car.

Lifestyle changes have contributed to Susie's back-pain problem. Although she is very busy, the activities are not the kind that will protect her back from injury. Susie does not consider herself a sedentary person but from the standpoint of physical conditioning, flexibility and muscle strength, she might as well be.

Lifestyle changes creep up on you. They generally signify a change that decreases physical fitness, increases weight, and sometimes modifies your posture. If you have been active and are suddenly relegated to a desk job, you may find those abdominal and quadriceps (thigh) muscles deteriorating very quickly. They can no longer give your spine the kind of support they did in the past.

Do you remember when you first started feeling that nagging backache? Could it be from a change in your lifestyle? You may have to make some conscious changes so you can get rid of your back pain. Being busy does not mean being physically fit.