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STIFF. SORE. SMARTING. IF THESE WORDS DESCRIBE YOUR LOWER BACK, YOU'RE NOT ALONE: 84 PERCENT OF PEOPLE WILL HAVE PAIN THERE AT LEAST ONCE. ERASE THE ACHES OF #ADULTING WITH THIS PROGRAM.

- Amy Wilkinson

Every few weeks during my social media scroll, I'm served a new version of a meme that goes something like this: "Welcome to your 30s, where sneezing wrong means two weeks of low-back pain." Each time, I chuckle knowingly.

Given that these posts rack up thousands of likes and shares, it's clear I'm not the only one experiencing fits of lumbar lousiness. Research proves me right: Up to 23 percent of the world's adults suffer from chronic low-back pain, with up to 84 percent of people experiencing at least one bout of low-back pain during their lifetime. (Adding insult to injury: Women of all ages are more likely to suffer from it than men, studies show.) The pandemic exacerbated the issue-and in ways you might not expect.

Both the prevalence and the intensity of low-back pain increased during this period, compared with pre-pandemic rates, a recent meta-analysis found-due in part to more sedentary living. The other piece(s)? Stress and anxiety, which are both contributing factors, other research confirms.

If you're feeling crunchy and resigned to living with it because you're in your 30s (or 40s or 50s), you don't have to! See what experts prescribe for managing, even eradicating, stiffness and soreness in our modern world.

PAIN POINTS

First things first: Let's define the terms. Here, we'll focus on what's known as "nonspecific" low-back pain-an ache or stiffness that doesn't stem from a diagnosable condition, like a herniated disc or an infection. (If you believe you've injured your back or your pain is a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, see a doc!) Nonspecific low-back pain accounts for 80 to 90 percent of all low-back pain, per The New England Journal of Medicine, and ranges from acute (less than 6 weeks) through subacute (6 to 12 weeks) to chronic (more than 12 weeks).