Back pain? It could be stress

Modern life can be a blur of dropping the children off at school, preparing for an important meeting at work and then managing a big project for the boss only to get to the weekend and face a mountain of household chores.

It all translates into stress for a lot of people, which means a series of negative signals, both mental and physical. Many start to feel worn out. Some fall ill.

"Stress is harmful in the long run," says psychologist Joachim Kugler of Germany's Dresden Technical University. But every person experiences stress differently.