Sooner or later almost everyone suffers an episode of back pain. Usually it is an unpleasant awkward but not desperately serious problem. Occasionally there may be a more serious underlying cause. Back pain is a major & increasing health problem & is now the principal cause of absence from work. This booklet aims to show you how the back works what goes wrong why back problems arise how they are treated & to give some indication of when further investigations & specialised help are necessary.