What does it mean to dream about back?
The back often stands for what you carry, your support and burdens, or the things behind you that you cannot easily see.
Four ways to read it
Each reading below comes from a named tradition and a cited source, so you can see where it came from and decide what fits your dream.
Freud
Freud would read the back as the bearer of loads and of what is kept out of sight, behind the conscious self. A bent or hurt back can mark the weight of a burden the dreamer feels.
After Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams (Brill trans., 1913), public domain.Jung
Jung would see what stands behind the self, the past and the unseen, and the strength that holds a person upright. A failing spine may mark a loss of the inner support one has relied on.
Jungian concept (our summary).Modern
Continuity ties the back to waking concerns about responsibility, support, and strain. Aching backs often surface when a person is carrying more than feels manageable.
Continuity hypothesis (our summary).Mythological
To carry the world on one's back is the labour of Atlas, the figure of endless burden. The backbone is the old measure of courage, the spine that lets one stand and not be broken.
Rosmerta Publishing editorial synthesis (after Bulfinch; Brewer).