I learned to drive a stick shift when I was 15. Since getting married, we have owned one vehicle with a stick shift, which I loved to drive.
I started having minor back pain in my 20's. When I test drove a car with an automatic transmission, the saleslady mentioned that stick shifts can sometimes aggravate back pain, especially if you are starting and stopping in traffic a lot. When I switched to the automatic transmission, I noticed a marked improvement in my back pain.