European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 04, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday May 4, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 23 modern medicines St. By Michael j. Halberstam . Low Back pain Lumbago As our grand mothers used to Call it was once considered an affliction of manual labourers bricklayers Farmers factory workers and Auto mechanics. Now it is a Middle class ailment As Well and in some circles is called executive Back  sore backs probably cause More distress in this country than any other medical prob Lem except the common cold. At least nine million americans seek treatment each year for various forms of Back pain according to Public health service estimates. Countless other victims suffer in silence. The typical member of this miserable group looks something like this he. Or More Likely she is 30 to 40 years old sits at a desk or around the House All Day is 20 to 30 pounds overweight was once an Active ath Lete but Seldom exercises now. Spends hours slumped in front of a to set and never walks when he can ride. Chances Are Good that he is also under psychological stress from a High pressure Job dissatisfaction with life or some other personal crisis. Although Many serious ailments such As kidney disease gallbladder disease cancer and peptic ulcer can cause backache the major culprit is the sedentary life style. Researchers have discovered for exam ple that even sitting with Good posture places twice As much pressure on the spinal discs As standing. Standing in turn causes twice As much pressure As lying Down. The discs act As Shock absorbers Between the vertebrae or Bony part of the spine. When the discs weaken or disintegrate the pressure they were meant to absorb goes tothe Bones and nerves of the spine causing  also causes the abdominal Muscles to Sag from disuse and makes them less Able to do their Job of supporting the delicate Structure of the , then can we prevent Low Back pain the main recommendation of most Back specialists is exercise. They prescribe not just any kind of exercise but activities which strengthen the abdominal Muscles swimming hiking and bicycling jogging does not help Back pain because it strength ens the heart not the Abdomen a regular exercise program such As the Canadian air Force program is also  those with particularly weak abdominal Muscles., a doctor can recommend special isometric or other exercises. But while the Back is still hurting exercises should be sus  ways to prevent Back problems do not lift heavy objects. If you must hold them close to you. Learn to lift properly with a straight Back and body Bent at the Knees and hips not at the Waist. This makes the leg Muscles Bear the Burden. Avoid sudden movements and twists. Rest your Back by crossing the legs or using a Footrest that raises the Knees higher than the hips. Sit close to the pedals while driving. Avoid slumping in overstuffed or any other chairs. Art Buchwald Washington Washington is going to need a wailing Wall after president Carter s Energy proposals. I have never seen so much crying and anguish in a City since the president addressed Congress. I was walking by the White House when i saw a Man in a pin Stripe suit sitting on a curb sobbing  i Don t like to get involved but in this Case i Sal Down next to him and gave him my handkerchief. What s the matter fellow Are you lost no he said. I m the president of a Detroit automobile company and i be come to Washington to Lell them we can t do  can t do what we can t make Small cars that run efficiently and Are comfortable and get Good Gas  Why can t you i asked  Don t know How he cried. And even if we did no one would buy  put my Arm around him. Surely you can. Detroit can do anything if it sets its mind to in. After All. You arc the motherland of Automo Biles. Why Don t you say to your designers and engineers we re going to make the Best Small car that Money can buy. And with our vast advertising resources we re going to persuade the american Public it s to their advantage to buy one Rex Harrison could do in All by him self but it would mean retooling our factories moving Assembly lines changing consumer attitudes. Our people Are not up to it. You just say thai. But Why Don t you think of Ilas a new Challenge a test of american Industrial ingenuity. Remember the Story of the Little train that could a Well you know whal happened to  that was a train. We make  it s the same thing. You could pretend your car was a train. He sniffled. Ill think about  he  " i said have a  i got up and walked a few More blocks. Then i saw a Man sitting on Tojo in s crossword a Bench. He was wearing a hair shirt and seemed to be in agony. Why Are you wearing a hair shirt i asked  m in the Oil business he said. Everyone in the Oil business is wearing a hair shirt since Carter announced he wanted to tax gasoline and give the Money Back to  does t the shirt Hurt of course it hurts he said.,"but what would you do if the presi Dent wanted to raise the Price of your product bul refused to give you enough profit to search for new nil i understand the Oil business is very  s because you read the newspapers and watch television. If you knew the real Story you d know we can barely exist on the few trickles of Oil we gel Oul of the ground and an occasional foot of Gas we can sell on the  i said have a  i wandered up to Capitol Hill and saw a Man wailing against the Wall of the Sam Ray bum  me he said looking up at the sky. I beg your Pardon. Go  he said unless you re a  i m not a congressman but maybe 1 can help  m in the Coal business Carter wants the country to switch to that should make you very Happy Happy he wailed. He wants us to mine the Coal without wreck ing the environment. He wants us to fill in the holes we dig in the land scape and Lahl Trees and Flowers. He wants us to clean the Coal before it s burned. Of woe is me to be cursed As the owner of a Coal  next to him was another Man wailing just As loud. What s his problem i asked the owner of the Coal  has to haul my Coal on his Railroad and he says the government won t let him raise his  i opened my paper bag and gave them each a cookie across i Young Salmon s outer garment Broad Sash 12 Plant of the Lily family 13 necrology14 a youth 15 spring16 cipher 17 Island i France ii beige 19 mis Lupino 20 cupola 21 word with sewing or spelling23 the Markk Speaks evasively m valuable fur 32 persian fairy33 Pearl Buck heroine 34 vestments 37 narrate39 miscellany 40 Blunder 41 hot air chamber 411-Abium 46 dry50 actor Cameron 51 deep mods beginning for land or water 53 accomplished 54 presently 55 sacred image 56 harem room 57 hire58 Highland Scot avg. Solution Down pallid t guinness 3 Bellow 4 political party5 Teapot covers retired 7 High sea robber 8 Ike Bailiwick abbr 9 Medley 10 soothing unguent ii Fiejo political party time 26 min. 5 -4 answer 10 yesterday s Pule. 22 overhead railway 24 conjunction2$ resort 2c egyptian god27 greek nickname29 River in asia34 Singer cole31 chemical suffix35 Printer s measure 36 Salty 37 be contrite 38 Symbol for erbium41 Church Calendar c to vacate43 old Norse work 45 word with horse or curtain47 Oriental food Staple 48 Baal Forone 49 slight depression is deface dear Ann Landers my doctor told me i would have my baby in april Between the 12th and 17th. This is our first child. A few weeks ago my husband asked me if i could possibly have the baby by april i5th because we could sure use the tax Deduc Tion. Last night i had a few pains and he said. Gee would t it be great if the baby wag Prema Ture this morning did it. He suggested that i move the furniture today said it might help unmake the irs  it Burns me up that he puts his child s welfare and mine second to a few dollars. Let him have it Ann. Elb Limpo dear Friend your husband is not Only insensitive he s Igno rant. The deadline for a 197s tax deduction was december 31st. The april 15th deadline i or filing. Dear Ann Landers my wife s Mother lived with us for 14 years. She helped with the housework and cooking and was wonderful with our children. We never considered her a Burden. The Only time i Ever became annoyed Wither was when she Cut your column out of the paper and i d find a big Hole when i went to read Ann  wife has a sister and two Brothers. They never gave us a Nickel towards grandma s expenses. We bought her clothes paid her medical insurance and saw to it that she had a Little Money in her purse. The last year of her life was very expensive. She was gravely ill. Grandma s will was probated a few Days ago. We did l know she had anything. To our Surprise she owned some Blue Chip stocks and had a pile of War Bonds from world War ii. The estate is not huge but to people like us it looks like a  big question grandma left everything to As. The Broth ers and sister Are closing in. They say grandma was t Al there and it s up to us to do the right  so Ann. What is the right thing should grandma s other children share equally in the inherit acc Ril dear re the Money in t grandma s. It s yours. She left it to you All of it. If you want to share in with a swarm of locusts go ahead. Dear Ann my husband in his late 70s, is not at All Well. Many of my women friends in their Early 60s think of my husband As a sick old Man. And treat him kindly almost As if he were a child. He misunderstands their attentive Ness imagines himself very at Tractive and it s pathetic the Way he flirts. The Man makes a spectacle of himself every time a woman Friend comes to the  does t behave this Way with the married ones. Could it be a psychological problem what do you think his wife dear wife yes. It could also be organic. You say he is in his late 70s. This makes him a Candi Date or a few Small strokes. Unusual behaviour in people of that age group May be the result of minimal brain damage. I recommend a thorough Check up for your husband. The findings might reduce your hostility and put a new Ace on the humiliation