In the 1980s the economy was bad. The structural adjustment programme was at its worst.
The common phrase at the time was tighten your belts. Those who fared better were in the political elite.
They had the privileges to escape the long winding queues for the common commodities which were scarce at the time.
The pot belly gained the unusual name “the party and its government”. This I learnt was because many of the middle level politicians of the time quickly developed them once appointed to these lucrative positions.
The backbone is a series of 33 bones that support the back, protect the spine and allow multiple movements of the body.
The backbone has a series of curves that develop over time to distribute the weight of the body more evenly as a person begins to grow from crawling, standing and finally walking.
One of the keys to keeping the back bone working well is a balance in the body proportions. Backache is a common problem in Zambia.
It has become increasingly common along the line of rail with the improvement in the standard of living. I have noticed that the biggest growing job market is that of driving, this could be  long distance trucks, intercity buses, local buses or cabs.
This entails spending most of the working hours in a sitting position. With more people doing office jobs, more people driving their own cars and more people having pot bellies, backache is an increasing challenge.
1.What  is backache?
You know the feeling when you get it. The feeling of something sitting along your vertebral column and making normal activity with your back uncomfortable.
This pain may be high in the back or it may be low in the hollow of the back.
Low backache is more common than high backache. The neck and the lumbar (back of the abdomen) are the most mobile parts of the back bone and are the most prone to pain.
The backache may be longstanding (chronic) or it may be of sudden onset (acute). A chronic backache, is one that you may have had for a long time, which waxes and wane (disappears and reappears).
This pain maybe confined to the hollow of the backache causing point tenderness.
It may shoot to one or other of the legs. The pain may be made worse by specific movements, especially touching the toes or bending. For this reason you may find that when you have backache the muscles of the back, will hold the back in a particular position to minimize the pain.
This results ina rigid or inflexible posture when walking and inability to change the position of the body quickly, say front a sitting to a standing position.
You can always tell someone with backache problems from the way they walk and the way they will stand and sit. They will have very little swing on their shoulders or waist. This is the typical walk of the elderly.
2.What causes backache?
The bones of the back need a good balance between being rigid enough to protect the spinal cord that rans though its canal, and being flexible enough to move the trunk for walking, sitting and bending. Therefore the bones are more rigid in front, while being   more moveable at the back.
Backache can arise from  disease in the bone, the joints, the support structures around the backbone or from the nerves that exit the back through the narrow spaces between the bones of the back. Backache generally tends to be rare in the young.
This is because these parts are all new and very flexible. However if the bones of the back do not develop properly from birth and the normal shape of the back does not develop, then backache can occur in childhood.
In these cases the shape of the back bone will not be normal.
Children can also have backache from a narrow central canal (the central space where the spinal cord passes through the bones of the back).
If this spaces is too narrow, the child may experience pain in the lower back and legs, due to nerves being compressed. Injuries to the back during sport can also lead to backache.
With the advent of HIV infection, another common cause of backache in Zambia in young people is infection of the bones of the back. More especially Tuberculosis (TB) of the back bone. This germ destroys the bones of the lower back leading to the collapse of the vertebrae and a forward bend of the back. This may lead to weakness in the legs, due to compression of the nerve and failure to walk over time.
In general though most backache occur in the middle aged and the elderly. This occurs from disproportionate deposition of fat around the waist.
This leads to excessive bending of the hollow of the back of the lumbar curve. Which places a strain on the supporting structures of the back, causing spasms of the muscles and pain. Occupational hazards, such as prolonged sitting and standing results in similar strain to the back.
Occupations such as secretarial jobs, long distance drivers/cab/minibus drivers, police/military jobs and health workers, which force the back in unusual positions for prolong periods will lead to occupational back pain. Sleep position and patterns will also worsen this situation.
With increasing age degeneration or wear and tear of the structures of the back bone will lead to backache. This include weakness of the back bone cushions (Annulus fibrosis), these cushions give springiness to the anterior part of the back bone. You may have noticed that people get shorter as they grow older.
This is because of the loss of height of these back bone cushions. Strenuous activity, such as lifting a rather heavy grandson, can snap these cushion and lead to sudden severe pain from compression of the spinal cord.
This condition is called PID (Prolapse of the Intervertebral Disc), typically Grandpa bends to pick up something, and has so much pain he is unable to stand straight again. He is carried in a semi-flex position to the hospital.
With age,the joints of the back bone lose the fluid in their joint space, a condition called Osteoarthritis. With this loss of fluid the bones rub against each other with each movement.
This makes every movement of the body such as bending, stooping and stretching extremely painful. Another common cause of backache are diseases of the bone itself.
With increase in age the bones of the back become thinner and thinner (Osteoporosis), this  ismore marked in women after the stoping of their menses (period), which is called menopause.
These bones can no longer hold the body’s weight and begins to break (fractures). Additionally back pain may come from  the spread of cancers to the bones of the back.
The back bone has a rich network of blood, and is an attractive field for developing  cancer cells that are in the blood circulation.
This lead to severe pain in the back and often the ribs. Typically it is difficult to find a good position for sleep in this condition.
3. What can I do to prevent backache?
Try to keep the body in its natural proportions and balance.
This keeps the back in its most natural alignment. When there is an asymmetry of the body the thing that will shift is the backbone.
This is because it is the most mobile part of the body. There are a few things you can do to keep your body in symmetry. These are
1. Eating habits
2. Exercising
3. Working posture
4. Sleeping posture
Most excess food will be stored in the lower abdomen and the back.
This places a strain on the back. Eat modestly so you does not have a pot belly. Reduce the amount of alcohol you take. Reduce fast foods, eat natural foods and reduce carbonated drinks. Take food rich in calcium or calcium supplements, this will strengthen your bones.
Do back exercises to strengthen your back muscles and make you ligaments more flexible. Make sure that if your occupation involves prolong sitting you have a back cushion support for the hollow of your back. Sleep on a flatbed (or on the floor occasionally) or on a bed with a rigid board, this will keep you back well supported.
A bed with a central sag will strain your back severely and lead to back ache. Stressing your back in your growing up years will lead to back problems when you are older.
Be careful about lifting weights in the gym, always use a back corset to support your back.
The secret to avoid backache is keeping your body in good shape and balance.