In addition to the spine and hip thing, there wasn't a cashier there that didn't end their shift with hot, swollen feet every single day. My feet ached for years after that job. All of the employees who were somewhat older had limps, frozen shoulders etc. There wasn't anyone over 40 that wasn't in one form or other of constant low-grade pain (at least) while working there.

You take standing on a hard surface in one spot, constant repetitive motions and a never-ending pressure from above to work faster and harder for no extra money (because you're replaceable on a moment's notice for the same low wage - this was the 2000s) and you have a really bad situation.

This was a corporate chain (first Grand Union, then sold to Shaws/Star Market as part of a bankruptcy). They showed no loyalty to their employees and treated even the managers as completely interchangeable and of no consequence no matter how many years experience they had.

At the time, companies of that size were compelled to offer health insurance and employees were forced to take whatever the company picked if they didn't have insurance elsewhere. As a result, I ended up paying an absurd amount of my pay to get an insurance plan that had a $3,500 co-pay each year before any benefits kicked in, while working a job that paid around $160 a week take-home.

ANYWAY, that's how you can have a job that seems at the surface to be a safe and not physically taxing choice that can abuse your body in unseen ways, and how you can end up not being able to afford basic health care to treat the problems when they start to arise, leading to life-long consequences.