Your backbone, also called the vertebral column, is made up of 33 vertebrae separated by spongy disks.

Besides maintaining a healthy weight, one of the most important steps you can take to reduce the risk for back pain is to perform a stretching/flexibility workout every morning. Here are some other tips for back care.

No matter what your activity -- even standing or sitting with good posture -- you use your core muscles.

Pain in the back or neck area can be acute, which comes on suddenly and intensely, or chronic, which can last for weeks, months, or even years. The pain can be continuous or intermittent.

Back pain is a common complaint: Nearly everyone will have low back pain that interferes with work or daily activities at some point in his or her life.

Sciatica is a pain that originates along the sciatic nerve, which extends from the back of the pelvis down the back of the thigh.

A spine affected by scoliosis shows a sideways curvature and a rotation of the vertebrae, giving the appearance that the person is leaning to one side.

Kyphosis is a forward curvature of the spine. It is a type of spinal deformity and should not be confused with poor posture.

Spinal stenosis is a condition in which the spinal canal narrows and pinches the nerves, resulting in back and leg pain.

Neck pain can result from many different causes—injury to muscles, tendons, or ligaments; arthritis; a herniated disc; or a tumor.

Most neck pain is caused by sleeping on a bed that’s too soft, poor posture, stress, neck strains or degenerative joint disease that occurs when the joints of the neck become inflamed or a disc pushes outward from its normal position.

Torticollis is a spasm of the neck muscles. It is usually caused by vigorous movement or injury—or by sleeping in an awkward position.

Whiplash is an injury caused by the neck bending forcibly forward and then backward, or vice versa. The injury usually involves the muscles, discs, nerves, and tendons in the neck.

Lumbar disc disease is caused by a change in the structure of a spinal disc. Most of the time, disc disease is a result of aging and the degeneration that occurs within the disc.

Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is a chronic, degenerative, joint disease that affects mostly middle-aged and older adults.

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes loss of bone mass and destruction of bone tissue. This weakening of the bones makes them more likely to break.

A lumbar strain is an injury to the lower back, which results in damaged tendons and muscles that spasm and feel sore.

Detailed information on low back pain, including causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment