Back Pain

Music can strike up a better attitude All types of music may improve moods. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University asked 47 students, slightly more than half of them music majors, to keep diaries of their listening habits for two weeks, including how they felt before and after listening to music. If the students were already in a positive frame of mind, music increased those emotions, the study found. If they were feeling pessimistic or angry, the negative mood decreased. Rock and heavy metal were the most commonly listened to kinds of music.

For something that affects four out of five Americans at one time or other, it's amazing what we don't know about treating a bad back. Should we head for the surgeon? The chiropractor? The acupuncturist? Exercise or bed rest? Heat or ice? Often the answer boils down to something simple: whatever works. Ellen Webb, 45, is a busy Roland Park mom with three small children. She controls her recurring lower back pain by practicing yoga and doing sit-ups to keep her abdominal muscles strong.

With his baseball cap turned backward, Ravens quarterback Chris Redman confidently dropped back and zipped a pass without flinching. During what should have been another routine throwing session yesterday, Redman showed no signs of pain in his back and, more notably, no effects from the increased pressure on his shoulders. Talking for the first time since the Ravens drafted a potential franchise quarterback in Kyle Boller on Saturday, Redman said he is fully recovered from offseason back surgery and is ready to battle the first-round draft pick for his starting job. "Competing is part of the NFL," Redman said.

Kim Rehman says it is costing her "a small fortune" to buy two sets of textbooks for her daughter, Amber, a 10th-grader at Garrison Forest School. But it's less expensive to buy duplicates than to take her daughter to a doctor or physical therapist frequently because of muscle spasms. The Rehmans, who live in Owings Mills, blame the weight of Amber's backpack - nearly 30 pounds of books and belongings - for the back pain that she has experienced since sixth grade. "It was too much weight for her to carry around," Rehman said.

SEATTLE - Testifying to the healing powers of a day off with his family, Cal Ripken sought out manager Mike Hargrove yesterday afternoon with a simple request: to play third base for the first time in more than a week. Ripken told Hargrove the lower-back stiffness that had caused him to speak ominously Wednesday of a possible extended stint as designated hitter no longer gripped him. "I'd like to play in the field and I felt better after a day off," Ripken said after sitting for his press conference, which is held every first day of a road series.

Larry R. Harding, 49, left home one night this month on an errand. He never returned. A day later, Harding was found suffering from blunt force trauma in an abandoned rowhouse across town in West Baltimore, police said. He died Sunday. Homicide detectives said yesterday that they are scrambling to find motives and possible clues. Harding didn't appear to have any enemies, detectives said. "He was a person who was taking care of his own life," said Detective Danny Danzy. "He was taking care of his elderly mother.

Everyone in the group agrees: What brings them together each week is a pain in the neck. Or the knees. Or the back. Or just about any other place where pain prowls. "I never know when it's going to hit," said Columbia resident Margee Flowers, 85, detailing her facts of life matter-of-factly to a sympathetic crowd. "Whenever it wants to, it comes." At Florence Bain Senior Center in Columbia, people dealing with the tribulations of aging have an outlet beyond the age-old tradition of complaining about it - they belong to a support group.

Cal Ripken would have made Eddie Gaedel proud. Almost as proud as his orthopedist. Participating in a packed afternoon fan forum at yesterday's FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center, Ripken fielded a question about his myriad batting stances. A topic that has frequently irritated the Orioles third baseman throughout his career this time elicited a chuckle while bringing him out of his chair. "I've been working on a new stance. Want to see it?" At that, Ripken went into a convoluted crouch -- even for the Iron Man of 1,000 stances -- that included a deep knee bend with him hunched over so his elbows were no higher than his knees.

CLEVELAND -- For most of the season, the way Pedro Martinez pitches has strained belief. Last night, it strained his back.Martinez, Boston's sure Cy Young Award winner in the American League, lasted only four innings at chilly Jacobs Field before having to leave the game. The Cleveland Indians took advantage of his absence -- and of a strong start by Bartolo Colon -- to come back for a 3-2 win over the Red Sox in the opening game of this American League Division Series.Cleveland, down 2-0 when Martinez left, broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth when Travis Fryman singled with one out and the bases loaded.

The party had another lousy ending for the Ravens, but at least wide receiver Jermaine Lewis managed to show up this time.A week after not touching the ball in the season-opening, 27-10 loss in St. Louis -- Lewis joined the action in yesterday's last-second, 23-20 loss to Pittsburgh at PSINet Stadium.Lewis had three catches for 48 yards, added six punt returns for 56 yards, including a 28-yarder that he nearly broke for a touchdown, and he came away with some pain for his efforts.Lewis paid the price after teaming up with Stoney Case on a 19-yard completion, which set up a game-tying touchdown pass to Qadry Ismail with 1: 22 left.