BATON ROUGE — Lower back pain is common. It is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Up to 80 percent of people will experience it at some point in their lives.

From overdoing it at the gym to sitting at your desk all day, you can strain your back from doing too little or too much, and it can significantly impact daily life.

"Prevention is key, and the way we do it is activity,” Dr. Trishul Kapoor with the Cleveland Clinic Department of Pain Management said.

Kapoor says muscles support your spine and take the weight off your joints. That's why strength training is so important.

"When patients say, well, I walk every day, I do other activities, it's not enough. You have to focus on doing specific exercises that strengthen those core muscles in your back,” Kapoor said, adding that when you do experience back pain, it is important to pay attention to persistent symptoms.

Kappor recommends that people don't wait to seek treatment if the pain is still there after a couple of days, especially if it's a new pain you've never experienced before.

He says it's important to be evaluated so that you know what's causing the pain.

"It could be the muscle, it could be the joints, it could be the ligaments, nerves, or even the central canal where the spinal cord and the nerves are,” he said.

Once a doctor evaluates you, Kapoor says appropriate imaging can be done and once the problem is pinned down, you can get the treatment you need.

"Education in terms of the treatments that you're getting and the condition you have is super important, and taking the time to read and having access to the appropriate resources is important,” Kapoor said.