I have NO German in me (thankfully? ...except i do like beer and brats.. hmmm) Until my dad and mom's generation, they were all "laborer's" for the most part- Italian on my dads side and French Canadian/Scotch Irish mutt on my moms side . While I have given up on pinpointing where/what caused my initial injury, I think I'm slightly pre-disposed - I have a pretty short trunk - i.e. less room for all that junk in my trunk - That, and my shoulders slump forward, and I worked out ALOT, and lifted a bunch of things i shouldn't have. SO I guess that its probably not genetic. anywho. take care...... oh. one more thing. I'm a guy, so i don't have .... other things that would contribute to the problem.