How often do you have to step away from the computer because of back pain?

I barely have to. But if I need to, I take little breaks. Maybe have a snack, make some tea.

I would recommend getting up and walking around for 5min every hour. In addition to that get a ergonomic chair like Chris has. Or you could use an exercise ball as a chair like Leo Laporte does. When you start to feel strain on your back you can simply bounce and work you back muscles to keep them from tightening up or cramping.

Well, it all depends on what posture you have. Certain chairs help with this. Your back will hurt if you are slouching, but with correct posture, you should not have a problem with your back.

hmm I used to have back pains a year ago, I found if before you sleep crack your back, like not crack it but like do the thing of cracking you fingers to your back; helped heaps for me, give it a try.

I don't take nearly enough ergonomic breaks when I'm working at my computer, but I am working on improving that. The human body is engineered to move, not sit or stand motionless for hours and hours. When I take frequent breaks to stand up or stretch, take a walk (down the hall or a legitimate stroll somewhere, preferably on a beautiful day to recharge my senses, too,) I feel better and when I feel better I'm more productive.

I'm in the middle of a home office remodel and so far I've focused on my desk arrangement and purchasing a nice (yes, expensive) ergonomic chair since I spend so much time at work and play on my computers. I also bought an inexpensive footrest since I realized some of my odd pains were due to me slouching or putting my feet up on my desktop tower as a faux footrest. :)

At the moment, I have almost no back pains at all using any of my computers. But I am in my late teens, so I don't really have a 'bad back' at all. After being at my computer doing a repetitive task for almost 8 hours recently, my neck muscles started to really ache. It took maybe a day to recover from, but wasn't a very big issue. Something that I like to do when I'm doing my homework and I am reading the same question or sentence over and over again, I feel irritated, and have no motivation, I would just stand outside my door or backyard porch and get some fresh air and let your thoughts in your head settle down a little. I think the main problem with stress is that nobody knows how to take a quick break and have moderation. Anyways, I was thinking that if you took 5 minutes and enjoyed outside for a while every hour that would prevent any back pains that you have.

I have 2 other solutions to your back pains. 1 being buy a water bed. Having it almost ensures that your back can take any shape or form it wants without being in a weird or awkward spot. My second advice would be to go swimming at a public pool 2-3 times a week. It can be a recreational swim, or a lane swim. Lane swim would be better because you participate in more disciplined exercises rather than recreational swimming where everybody gets to do whatever they want. The main factor in choosing a pool should be whether or not it has a hot tub. Hot tubs are VERY therapeutic to the back and can heal back pains very quickly and efficiently. The real idea with using water in healing your back is that when you are submerged in water, you are in a force less environment, making it almost impossible for your back to feel any pain at all. Hope I helped!

The best way to avoid it is to have a chair with good back support and actually use the back support. If you are hunched over on the desk (not leaning on the backrest), you will get mainly pain around your upper back (close to the neck area).