LAHORE           -          Punjab Institute of Neuro Sciences (PINS) Executive Director and renowned surgeon Prof Khalid Mahmood has said regular exercise was a key to avoid back pain and spinal cord related complications.  Delivering a lecture at PINS on Saturday, he suggested obese people to work for losing weight as it could prove hazardous for health.  “Bad posture and natural degeneration of disc with aging causes backache. Patients need proper investigations to diagnose cause of backache and sciatica and to decide the modality of treatment either with drugs, physiotherapy or microsurgery”, Prof Khalid said. He explained to the medical students that in most of the cases there was no specific cause of back pain and 90% of the patients could recover through physiotherapy and simple medicines. He said that if the back pain extends from the waist down to the knees and feet then it is not simple and may need surgical interventions. Operation could be decided after proper diagnosis with MRI and other related tests, he said. He said that people should not be afraid of spinal surgery as most sophisticated ways and modern methods like keyhole surgery using endoscope and cameras through 2cm skin incision with least damage to normal structures were available.