Oh, my aching back!!!!!

I had a wake up call yesterday! I've been down with a horrible lower back ache which to me, felt like it was originating from my left hip where I had a total replacement 7.5 years ago.  I finally went to see my ortho surgeon to make sure my hip prosthesis was still in place.  Good news is that my hip is fine.  But they did take an x-ray of my back and found that I have a small indication of arthritis in my back.  They think the lower back pain is actually from muscle strain but wanted to let me know that I do have some arthritis.  WOW!!!! 
I'm 64 years old.  Most my friends have arthritis somewhere in their body, and most of them, in the lower back.  So I know it's not unusual.  But I guess I always thought of myself as being relatively healthy for my age.  At least, on rare occasions when I turn on my Wii and insert my Wii Fit disc and do that little test for age, I'm told I'm 35 years old.  So I've been going on believing that I'm 30 years younger than my real age.
I don't take any blood pressure medicine, and I'm not a diabetic.  But the truth of it is, I don't go to doctors so I don't have to find out. I do have a blood pressure monitor which I use once every other month or so.  It tells me that I'm at stage 1 hypertension.  I borrow my dad's blood sugar reading machine, and measure myself some mornings - not often.  It tells me I'm good (60 to 70 range).  But I don't take it in late afternoons after my 4th bar of chocolates!
This arthritis in the back really is forcing me face the truth. The truth isn't that I'm old and need to plan for death.  But truth is that I really need to get going with being healthy and treating my body right. Eat simply! Live simply!  EXERCISE!!!!!