Kevin Orie, the Upper St. Clair High School star who went on to play third base in the major leagues in the late '90s, has a bad back. So does 1968 Olympic and three-time world figure skating champion Peggy Fleming.

And chances are either you and/or a couple of folks you know do too, because back injuries are almost as common as head colds.

"It is essentially the second-most common [medical problem], next to cardiac [conditions]," said Dr. Brian F. Hagen, who holds a doctorate in physical therapy and serves as regional and facility director of the Center for Rehabilitative Services at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine, as well as the sports medicine center's program administrator.

"Estimates are that eight of 10 people will have a significant episode of back pain at some point in their life," Dr. Hagen added. "It's the most prevalent musculoskeletal injury."

But back injury is largely preventable, and, if you catch it early, before it develops into something more problematic, easy to cure too.

There are, Dr. Hagen said, two basic categories: general low back pain and radicular symptoms. The former, which is the less serious of the two, is just what it sounds like. Radicular symptoms include numbness, tingling or weakness in the legs and usually are signals of a more serious problem.

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Exercises for the back

Here is a sample of exercises that strengthen the body's core muscles, for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The ball and band exercises are usually more advanced than floor exercises.

Click on images for larger version.

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"We see thoracic [upper back] injuries as well, but the low back is far more prevalent," he added.

"The unique thing about back pain is we don't always know which particular structure [is injured], like when you rupture an ACL in your knee we can clearly diagnose that particular ligament and attack that part of the injury. With lower backs it can be a little more difficult to pinpoint the tissue that's causing the problem: ligaments, discs, bone, muscle, tendons -- all those things can cause back pain."

There are two primary causes of injured backs. "One is what we would consider traumatic onset, where somebody may lift a load that's too heavy or they're forced into a position, for example, a wide receiver jumps up, gets his feet hit and is twisted out of position," Dr. Hagen said.

"The other is the overuse type of injury and that's probably more prevalent. It's generally in the lower back. Someone says, 'Well, I haven't golfed all year and I just played 36 holes' or 'I've been pretty much sedentary and now I've decided to paint my entire house in pretty much one day.' Those are the types of overuse, where you've overloaded the tissue ... and that generally comes from weakness or imbalance."

The action that most frequently causes a back injury is formally called "flexion rotation," Dr. Hagen said as he demonstrated by bending over and twisting to the side.

It's a movement that both Ms. Fleming, who never had a significant injury during her skating career, and Mr. Orie blame for contributing to their disc injuries. Discs are cushions between the bones that have soft centers and more rigid sides. When the wall of the tissue becomes weakened, the soft tissue is squeezed outward, and, Dr. Hagen said, "that can be of varying degrees from bulging disc to full-blown herniated."

Ms. Fleming, now 59, who is serving as a spokeswoman for back health and injury prevention under the auspices of a health care company called HealthSaver, had two herniated discs a few months ago.

"I was lifting things at the wrong angle," she said. "I thought if I work out, lift weights [it was alright], but you can't do it wrong. I was always lifting luggage and it was always 50 pounds. ...

"I think that's what happened to me. I thought I had pulled my leg muscle. I went right in to see the doctor. I had an MRI, an epidural and physical therapy and got it better."

Mr. Orie, 35, of Harmar, believes he initially sustained his two bulging discs during his pro career and then aggravated them a few months ago playing golf and paddle tennis.

"It was [originally] a combination of wear and tear from the torque of hitting and throwing and being a tall infielder. It was just a combination of all three," he said.

"Now I play a lot of golf and paddle tennis and I'm still torquing the lower back." He's doing traction therapy with Dr. Hagen but says he knows it won't get better unless he lays off those two sports for a month or so.

While ridicular symptoms like Ms. Fleming's need immediate attention, many first-time instances of general lower back pain probably do not.

"Eighty percent of those will get better on their own," Dr. Hagen said. "But if you've had more than one episode of back pain, it's not a bad idea to have it checked out. Oftentimes a little bit of preventive medicine can keep it from progressing."

Preventive exercises are "typically not exercises people do in a gym," he added. "Most people when they go to a gym they're working on their biceps, triceps, the beach muscles. These are more what we call core stabilization and strengthening [exercises]. We can do them on the floor; sometimes they're done on a fitness ball. They've not in the past been part of most exercise routines but what we're finding that both in the sedentary and the sports world is that these are really important muscles for not only sports performance but also prevention of injury as well."

There are a few other things besides core strengthening and lifting properly that can lead to good back health, Dr. Hagen said:

• Quit smoking. "Chronic smokers have increased healing time and impaired tissue quality because of the blood flow and the nicotine and chemicals in the body."

• Lose excess weight. "Obesity contributes to low back pain."

• Eat properly. Proper nutrition is necessary for back health. "Making sure you are taking in enough calcium for bone structure [and] protein for muscle structure, all those things are important."

• Get some regular exercise. "If you're someone who sits all day at a computer vs. someone who's on his feet walking, moving, a sedentary lifestyle can lead to instances of back injury, typically because you cause imbalances, weakness and tight muscle from sitting in a particular position."

• Maintain good posture. "Sitting in a sustained [bad] posture for eight hours a day, five days a week for 10 years, 12 years -- your body does accommodate in a bad way."