Ted's Aching Back

As Senator Ted Kennedy politicked through New England, he was often afflicted by a problem that was never mentioned in any campaign speeches and rarely elsewhere: severe pain in his lower back. Kennedy crushed three vertebrae in the crash of a small plane in 1964. Since his recovery, he has suffered periodically from back trouble--much as his brother John did in his rocking chair in the White House. On one extended foray, the Senator flinched visibly every time he clambered out of the eight-seat Piper Chieftain that took him from New York City to his stops in three New England states. In Northampton, Mass., from zealous Secret Service agents kept local TV newsmen too far from the plane to film Kennedy's arrival, the candidate summoned them to within camera range and then obligingly, and painfully, hauled himself out of his limousine. That kind of difficulty has sometimes frayed his temper, and probably contributed to his erratic campaign performance. Kennedy's aides have had to rewrite his schedules frequently to accommodate his back problems. The Senator has asked them to rule out factory tours shakes he wants to avoid the long hikes on hard floors. When he shakes hands with large groups of voters, he props himself against a table or folding chair held by a Secret Service agent. Rest periods are programmed into each day, so that he can go soak for an hour in a hot bath. The pain is aggravated by rides in bouncing buses and by nights in the soft, sometimes sagging beds of supporters' homes. Kennedy takes along a bed board, which helps, but whenever possible, he sleeps on the firm and familiar mattress of his cam in Hyannis Port. Late last week, after 17 straight days of campaigning, he flew to West Palm Beach, Fla., for a day of relaxation in his mother's mansion. One of its useful features: a whirlpool bath.

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