By Sandra Gordon, Pure Matters

If you have a back that "acts up" occasionally, you probably think about it only when it hurts. Back pain experts say that it's better to treat your back well day to day. That approach will help prevent episodes of pain in the first place.

“Keeping your back healthy involves making lifestyle choices every day that will make it less prone to injury,” says Mark McLaughlin, M.D., a spine specialist in Princeton, N.J.

Here’s what Dr. McLaughlin suggests to maintain a healthy spine and protect it from painful flare-ups.

Strengthen your core

Back pain can have many causes. Some causes include deterioration or rupture of a disk, muscle spasms, and tense muscles. To reduce your risk for these problems, strengthen your abdominal and back muscles. Do about 15 minutes of exercises a day that focus on this area. You can try back-friendly yoga poses, Pilates, and sit-ups. Any of these help support and stabilize the spine.

“Normally, the muscles that support the spine are in balance, like a circus tent that has a pole in the middle and taut ropes around it,” Dr. McLaughlin says. “But if one side becomes weaker than the other from disuse or repetitively leaning to one side, some muscles will contract and others will be stretched, which can progress to curvature of the spine or wear and tear on the disks.”

Dr. McLaughlin also recommends daily stretching. For example, reach up with your arms overhead and lean to one side then the other. Stretching will keep your back strong and flexible. It will be less prone to injury because spinal disks will have more range of motion.

Watch your weight

Carrying around extra weight -- especially around your middle -- puts added stress on your back.