Interesting that they say that back pain is the second most common cause for absenteeism after the common cold...haven't I heard that IBS is?They really didn't talk all that much about stress as a cause of back pain. But it definitely is. I had trouble about a 10 years ago with really bad pains in my bck - I thought it might have even been my kidney. After going to the doctor and having it checked out and even doing physical therapy (I was at a school with a program in PT so they sent you at the drop of a hat), I was told that stress probably caused my problems. I just hit my head and went D'oh - since I've had so many other stress related problems.nancy