# Back pain triggers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-pain-triggers/695228 "2014-08-10T11:44:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-pain-triggers/695228/1 "2014-08-10T11:44:31Z")
What have you been able to positively identify as a back pain trigger? For myself when I was younger and doing heavy manual labor pushing a grocery cart at the super market was one of the worst. Another bad one is the safety back brace some companies required us to wear. Beanbag chairs were a real crippler. I still am not able to select a mattress that won’t cause back pain, it seem like dumb luck trial and error is my best selector. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-pain-triggers/695228/2 "2014-08-10T21:05:49Z")
Sitting too long in one place, and, worse, sitting slightly hunched over. Watching too much tv, sitting too long at the computer, watching a movie at a theater, long-distance driving. Probably, though, everyone is different, and what causes one guy to spasm in agony might actually be therapeutic for the next guy! ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-pain-triggers/695228/3 "2014-08-10T21:08:28Z")
Completely flat shoes will do it to me, especially ballet shoes or skimmers. So will tripping over something unexpectedly, including dropping off a curb. ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-pain-triggers/695228/4 "2014-08-10T21:34:29Z")
Brushing my teeth. Seriously, I’ll be bending over the sink to spit and when I attempt to straighten up – EEEOOWWWW!!! (OK, so maybe it’s spitting after brushing my teeth. Maybe I should just swallow.) ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-pain-triggers/695228/5 "2014-08-10T21:39:13Z")
Lack of exercise. I work in a cubicle and have couch potato tendencies, and if I don’t exercise I start waking up mornings with lower back pain. If I go the the gym and basically do anything whatsoever, the pain stays away. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-pain-triggers/695228/6 "2014-08-11T01:24:04Z")
For me, weird chairs- bar stools, picnic tables, plastic yard chairs, etc. Lots of other things too but those for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-pain-triggers/695228/7 "2014-08-11T02:15:10Z")
Dehydration. I’ve been living in a tropical climate for three years now and still cannot manage to keep myself properly hydrated. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-pain-triggers/695228/8 "2014-08-11T03:37:46Z")
Sitting too long without a coccyx cushion, and without getting up (even if just for 30 seconds) every hour or so. When I was younger in college a backpack would do it. I wouldn’t have chronic back pain, but every few months my back would totally go out and I’d be disabled on the floor for a day. Once I left college and stopped carrying a backpack that problem went away. Poor fitting shoes also. It is a struggle sometimes, you buy a pair of shoes and all they do is transfer all the shock into your knees or back.