Love your analysis. And I appreciate you cautioning me on my approach. The interesting thing is I believe your attempt to find answers based on data here is the

Love your analysis. And I appreciate you cautioning me on my approach. The interesting thing is I believe your attempt to find answers based on data here is the biggest trap there is when looking at back pain. Are structural issues with backs the cause of back pain? In Sarno's book he talks about how people will often feel back pain and then search for an answer. As a result they'll get a bunch of tests done and perhaps find that they have a bulging disk or some other abnormality. Then they assert that the bulging disk is the reason for their pain and perhaps consider some expensive invasive surgery. However, a huge proportion of the population has a bulging disk with no pain associated. Sure it's possible that the ones with pain are different from the ones without. Except back surgery rarely cures the pain and instead leaves people with life altering mobility issues permanently. Sadly it's often difficult for people to deal with psychological issues because they don't know where to begin. They might not even notice the things that bother them because they bury them so deep. In western culture it is much more acceptable to get metal rods shoved into your back than to see a therapist.