Back pain and that "pinched nerve " people often experience can in most cases be prevented by maintaining a healthy spine, the sudden sharp pain one feels when sleeping funny or lifting an object poorly has in most cases been building up over a period of time and the body eventually decides enough is enough. This is why it is important to have you back checked at least every 6 months in order to make sure everything is moving as it should and there is no "surprise" developing , waiting for that one last lazy movement before it catches you.