The demands of working and raising a family can also contribute, says Reid. Busy women often don't have time to stay in shape and keep their backs strong, and they're under a lot of stress. When you are under a lot of stress, you experience muscle tension. That makes them more susceptible to strain. The workplace is another source of pain, says Reid.
Sedentary workers have the second highest incidence of back pain.
As with smoking, sitting in a fixed posture for a prolonged period of time prevents the natural pumping of nutrition in and out of the disks, says Dr. Pope. High heels are a problem, Reid says, because they throw off a woman's center of gravity. As the heels bring you upright and forward, you get increased curvature, often called swayback, in the lower back. And the higher the heel, the more the body is thrown off-kilter. Having a family history of back pain places women, as well as men, at increased risk, says Edward Hanley, M.D., chairman of orthopedic surgery at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.